


You're a part of me (now 'til eternity)

by JustForTommo



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Cannon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, M/M, POV Alternating, Romance, Slow Burn, adding more tags as I go, alex/willie will be on the side, character age changes!!! -- julie is 18 and the boys are 19 bc mature themes, the show's base is there but will be expanded on and changed a bit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:55:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26658553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustForTommo/pseuds/JustForTommo
Summary: The first time Luke sees her, he’s just landed flat on his back and his head hurts like a bitch. He doesn't really /notice/ her until she’s all he can see, all he can hear. Her powerful voice fills the small space of the garage, her fingers fly across the keys, and her head tilts back so her curly hair falls further down her shoulders.It’s like something clicks inside of him.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 75
Kudos: 540





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE READ!!**  
>  ****Julie and the boys are going to have their ages hiked up a bit in this fic because there's going to be some maturer content (cursing, expanding on the darker themes, possible sexy times we'll see where it goes) coming your way, and I'd like them to all be legal adults in my universe. The fic will follow the basic plot of the show, but one of the major changes will be age. **Julie will be 18 and the boys will be 19.*****
> 
> **as always, if the characters being older and having mature themes and the possibility of a physical relationship between julie/luke is something you don't like, this isn't the fic for you. Thanks for stopping by though and I hope you find another good fic to read!**
> 
> Please feel free to share this link with others, bookmark, like, etc! I also love reading your feedback and comments!  
> Please don't repost anywhere! I put a lot of time an effort into this, so please feel free to enjoy on AO3!
> 
> This has not be beta'd. We live and post on the edge [of great] here.

The first time Luke sees her, he’s just landed flat on his back and his head hurts like a bitch. His insides have been completely rearranged and it feels like the hot dog of death is happening all over again. Someone just kneed him in the balls. By the pink hoodie shoved in his face it was definitely Alex.

Ugh.

He groans and turns around to push himself up, head snapping left and right to check on Alex and Reggie.

That’s when he sees her, shock still with an over-sized sweater and hair pulled back away from her face. He’s too busy gaining his bearings and catching his breath to really take her in. He’s too overwhelmed with the feeling of belonging just seeing the walls of his old garage.

Luke’s finally back in his sanctum, in his home away from home, and it hits him like a ton of bricks that there’s no more darkness. There’s color and light and his boys -- his family -- right there with him.

Then she screams, a blood curling, high pitched wail that makes all of the boys jump and scream themselves. And then...she runs off.

“What is even happening right now,” Reggie asks, head whipping back and forth as he looks around the room. 

It’s different, definitely, but the smell of old wood, dust, and rich earth fill Luke’s nose and he can’t help but take a deep breath.

“I have no idea, dude,” Alex says as he rubs the back of his head.

“Doesn’t matter,” Luke says, trying to stay positive. “We’re back boys! We’re back in our garage!”

“I guess,” Alex grumbles. He reaches out to touch the grand piano -- that’s new -- and his hand goes straight through. “Woah, that’s freaky.”

“Sure is,” Reggie says. He reaches out his own hand to touch the piano and it disappears right through the wood. “I can’t feel it, but I know I’m touching it.”

Alex stumbles over his own feet and falls through an amp. Reggie lets out a mildly hysterical laugh. And now it’s just a constant stream of _whatthefuck whatthefuck whatthefuck_ running through Luke’s head. He can see the same expression on his band mates’ faces.

In an effort to distract himself, Luke spies what looks like a few journals stacked up on the corner. He starts to make his way over to check them out, but the next thing he knows, it’s like the floor falls out from under him and his body’s buzzing from head to toe. He’s back in that dark place again, and _oh god not again,_ before he’s suddenly right beside the journals.

“Dude!” Reggie says, eyes wide. “What just happened?”

“I...I don’t know. Maybe it’s a ghost thing?” Luke asks. He shakes off the light headedness as the last of the tingling slowly ebbs away. “I just wanted to look at the journals and then I was here.”

“Huh,” Alex says. Then he’s glimmering out of view and appearing almost on top of Luke. “Whoops, sorry dude.”

“Wait, how did you do that?” Reggie’s voice curls up almost into a whine. Luke guesses he’s two seconds away from stomping a foot.

“I just thought about how I wanted to be here, next to Luke, and it happened.”

Reggie squeezes his eyes tight and starts talking softly to himself. Luke spares a glance at Alex who’s rolling his eyes. It takes a second, but then Reggie is poofing over next to them.

“Nice!” Reggie says with a laugh. “That’s such a weird feeling but I guess we can put this in the perks column.”

“Let’s see how far we can do it!” Luke says excitedly. “Want to try going to Mr. Hicks’ yard down the road?”

“Sure,” Reggie disappears.

“Cheater!” Luke calls. He can hear Alex huff out a breath beside him, almost something like a laugh, before they both poof away.

They land with a little more grace than they did in the garage, feet falling heavy onto wet grass. Reggie’s there with his mouth wide open as he stares at the old house. It’s a little more run down than Luke remembers, and the shutters are blue instead of red like they were yesterday.

“Paint job?” Reggie asks nervously.

“Um, sure,” Alex says. He reaches out and places a comforting hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “I’m sure that’s it.”

“So that was a fun experiment and everything, but let’s get back and see if we can find some of our things,” Luke says.

“Yeah, ok.” Reggie turns away from the house and nods at his friends.

When they get back, the girl from earlier is back in the garage wielding Jesus, and seriously? What is her problem with all the screaming?

Then she tells them that they’ve been dead for 25 years and the _whatthefuck_ that’s been a constant alarm in his head cranks up a notch.

* * *

This goes on for about a week -- Julie walking in while he and the boys are trying to figure out what “life” is now, jumping like she’s seen a ghost, and yelling at them to leave her alone or to stop playing their instruments. They had the sound set to one, thank you very much. Then she inevitably storms off.

Alex seems to want to wrap her blankets and make her see that they’re not bad people. It’s not their fault they have nowhere else to go. Reggie thinks she’s funny and has taken to sitting up at attention whenever she walks in like he’s about to see an amazing show.

And Luke just rolls his eyes, ignores the way her arms frantically thrash around as she speaks and the crease between her eyebrows when he ignores her speeches. He’s finally able to semi live his life again, and no one is going to bring down his high.

The only plus side to the nagging is that they find out that they can be heard when they play their music. And that news? Well it’s just about the best news a dead dude can hear. It fills Luke with so much excitement he feels like he’s going to bust open. People can still hear them! They may still have a shot of sharing their passion with the world.

* * *

Reggie has his tongue poked out between his lip as he stares intently at the book on the table. Luke watches from the couch and flips another page in his journal. He and Alex have mastered picking up small objects and Alex even managed to open the garage door on his own yesterday. Reggie, well, it’s a 50/50 shot whether he can pick things up. He’s getting better. It’s the attention span -- he’s like a puppy after a squirrel most of the time.

“You got this Reggie!” Luke encourages. He picks up a pen and scribbles a few notes down. “Just breathe.”

“I can’t!” Reggie says, frustration bleeding through every fiber of his non-corporeal body.

“Hey, you get this and we go watch people eat ice cream,” Alex says from the loft. He has been sorting through all of their old things and figuring out what’s still salvageable. Luke’s just glad he doesn’t have to wear the same t-shirt every day for the rest of his existence.

Reggie hums and closes his eyes. When he opens them he looks a lot more determined. With careful movements, Luke watches as Reggie reaches down and slowly lifts the book up. He flips it open and shifts through the first few pages with a blinding smile.

“Food works every time,” Alex says as he leans over the loft’s bannister. 

“Yes!” Reggie crows. “Thank god.”

“Sooo, ice cream?” Luke asks with a smile of his own.

In the next moment they’re all standing outside Ed’s Ice Cream shop. Ed’s son owns it now, but it had been a haunt of theirs way before they turned into ghosts.

“God I miss ice cream,” Reggie says as they walk through the door. He breathes in deep and delights in the sugary air.

“Me too,” Alex says. He hungrily eyes a double dip chocolate cone over the counter.

The boys all gather to the side and watch as a little girl in a princess outfit runs up to the counter. She presses her nose against the glass and eyes all of her choices.

“What do you want, baby?” Her mother asks. The little girl points excitedly to the cotton candy swirl flavor and her mother laughs. “Of course you want the one that looks like unicorns.”

The little girl is handed a small bowl of ice cream and immediately digs in while her mother picks out her own flavors.

“That looks disgusting but I’d die for it,” Reggie says with a pout.

“You’re already dead, dork.” That earns Luke a quick jab to the side from Reggie and a snicker from Alex. “Besides, you know you’d want the cookies and cream.”

“With fudge,” Reggie says. He sighs. “I know I should be grateful we have a chance to make music again and that we’re still together, but there’s definitely stuff I miss about being alive.”

“Yeah,” Alex agrees. “But, like you said, at least we’re together.”

“Sunset Curve for life!” Luke tries to put as much enthusiasm into his words as he can. The little girl chats animatedly with her mom and Luke can’t help but think about his own mother. “Ok, we got enough sugar smelling in boys?”

“Wait, just a few more minutes,” Alex says. He watches intently as a group of guys about their age tussle each other to the counter.

“Mmhmm.” Reggie smirks and wiggles his eyebrows. “Let’s enjoy that eye candy.”

Alex reaches over and pushes Reggie away and Reggie, of course, has to retaliate. Soon they’re wrestling themselves, and Luke watches as their bodies shift through the customers and machinery. He shakes his head and settles in for a show. Alex, always the quicker on the draw, reaches over and manages to actually wrap his fingers around some dry nuts. He hurls them at Reggie’s face and the utter shock from Reggie makes Luke laugh harder than he has in a long time.

“You bastard,” Reggie squacks as he eyes the nuts that have passed through him and onto the counter. He quickly looks around but no one seems to have noticed. “That was uncalled for.”

“Nah, it was totally called for.” Alex grins and sweeps the dry nuts away toward the ground.

“Luke! Alex is being mean!”

“Alright boys,” Luke says. “I can’t believe you’re making me be the responsible one here, but we should go before we do something to draw attention to ourselves.”

Alex reaches out and flings a few loose sprinkles from the counter top at Reggie and continues to laugh. “Yeah, I guess we can head out now. I clearly won.”

“Asshole,” Reggie mutters, but he’s smiling wide and the longing and sadness from earlier has lessened. Thank God for Alex. He always knows just what to do to make his friends smile.

“Hey, maybe we get some ice cream for Julie before we leave,” Alex suggests. 

Luke shrugs, kind of wishing he’d thought of that first to thank her for letting them crash in her garage, and watches as Alex quickly scoops out a bowl of chocolate and strategically walks out the back of the store. He’s the only one of them that can open doors at the moment, and it’s not like the ice cream can poof out with them. Let’s just say it’s a fun walk back to the house. People seeing a floating cup of ice cream as they walk down the sidewalk causes some memorable reactions. 

The boys leave the ice cream on Julie’s desk in her room and it’s timed close enough to the end of school that it’s only half melted by the time she flops down on her bed. She smiles to herself and eats it all, a puddled mess of milk and all.

They count it as a win.

* * *

It’s three days later that Luke finds out about Julie’s mom. She’s just run out on them as they tried to talk to her about letting them play their instruments while she’s at school, but this time he chases after her. There’s something about the tiredness around her eyes and the way her fuse is shorter than normal that sends up a red flag. And he has to find out what’s wrong.

Luke tries to compliment her mom’s songwriting ability. Sure, it may be because he was snooping and found sheet music tucked along the keys of the piano, but an amazing song was sitting _right there_ and he couldn’t not look.

When she rounds on him and her eyes take on that haunted look he knows far too well, he stops short. Luckily, Reggie and Alex have followed him and can pick up the remnants of the conversation because all he hears is white noise when she asks if they’ve seen her mother. As a _ghost_. Asks if she’s still here.

It hits him like a sledgehammer, watching this girl hold on to the last shreds of hope that she’ll be able to interact with her mother again. As soon as she says goodbye Luke poofs out. Doesn’t even tell the boys where he’s going. They’ll know.

He spends the next day and a half sitting in his parent’s house watching his mom and dad go about their lives. There’s a constant sadness that fills every movement. You’d think 25 years would let people move on, and it hurts to know it seems they never will. There will always be a gaping whole where he should be. He wishes he could fill their empty spaces with all the words he should have said the night he ran out.

It’s Alex that comes by on the second day. He wraps him up in his arms and lets him cry while they sit on his old couch. Alex presses a soft kiss to his forehead and it feels like hours before Luke can pull away and breathe properly again.

* * *

Even with Julie’s near daily presence in the garage, Luke doesn’t really _notice_ her until she’s all he can see, all he can hear. Her powerful voice fills the small space of the garage, her fingers fly across the keys, and her head tilts back so her curly hair falls further down her shoulders. 

Julie stops singing, and it’s clear by the shift of her shoulders and the heaving of her chest that she’s fighting tears. Alex instinctively moves forward, always the one to comfort, and he can’t explain it but Luke reaches out to stop him.

_No,_ he thinks. _Don’t touch her._

He gives them the signal to leave and after a gut wrenching second of nothingness, they’re outside again.

“Dude, why’d you stop me. Julie needs a hug!” Alex says, throwing up a hand.

“Bro, a ghost hug isn’t the feel good moment you think it is alright?” He’s posturing, he knows he is, but he can’t explain why. It was an instinct to get them out of there. “Trust me. What Julie needs right now is just a bit of privacy.”

Alex doesn’t seem to like that answer, and yeah, it was weak. He gets it. There was just something about watching Julie cry that felt too raw. And what good can they really do? They’re ghosts. She wouldn’t even feel a hug anyway.

Suddenly another girl runs by -- Luke thinks he remembers her name being Flynn -- and she also has tears in her eyes.

What is up with these girls? The boys exchange glances and turn toward the garage door.

“We can still listen?” Reggie suggests. It takes two seconds before they’re scrambling for the door.

Flynn laments the future disappearance of her best friend from her life. Through a crack in the wood of the door, Luke can see the way Julie’s face brightens as her best friend continues to talk a mile a minute and cut her off whenever she tries to speak up. At least the tears have stopped.

Julie pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and looks down, a soft smile on her face. The light filters through the windows behind her and casts a halo around her body. When she looks up, Julie’s grin makes his heart stutter.

He’s knocked out of his daze by Alex grabbing his hand and harshly whispering to act normal.

“Oh, hey,” Julie says as she notices them all awkwardly perched outside the door. She pauses like she’s going to say more but sees Flynn looking her way and continues to follow after her. 

“Don’t worry we weren’t listening,” Reggie tells her.

A swift kick to Reggie’s calf. An umph from his left. And Luke watches Julie almost fall into a bush. With a few awkward waves, she runs up the sidewalk and disappears around the front of the house. 

“That girl can _sing_ _!_ ” Reggie says. “That was amazing!”

“Yeah, I had no idea she could sing like that,” Luke says. He runs a hand through his hair and looks up at the sky. “I wonder why she didn’t tell us.”

“Um, probably because it has to do with her mom?” Alex snarks. “It must be hard to get back to something she used to do with her.”

“But she has music!” Luke says. “That’s all she needs.”

“Uh, yeah, ok,” Reggie says with a shake of his head. “Not everyone is quite as obsessed as you, Luke.”

“But with that talent? How could you not be?” If Luke was still alive and had the gift that Julie had with her voice, he'd never simply say another word again. It’d be songs 24/7.

“She did sound amazing,” Alex says. 

“I hope she can get back into her music program,” Reggie says. He flops down on the couch and that’s the kind of the end of the conversation.

Luke has Julie’s song stuck in his head for days.

* * *

Reggie’s full star fish mode on Julie’s bed as he makes fake snow angles on the soft comforter. They’re all getting a lot better at manipulating objects, and if they try hard enough they can almost feel things. 

Alex reaches for a photo on Julie’s dresser and his fingers go right through. He’s frustrated and scattered today. Something’s going on with him, but he hasn’t opened up about it and Luke knows better than to push sometimes. He and Reggie have been waiting him out. Alex -- who has been sneaking out at odd times and returning with either a goofy smile on his face or a nervous energy -- always needs a little extra time to really open up about personal things. It’s probably got something to do with the residual side effects of hiding his sexuality from his family for so long, but they’ll always let Alex come around in his own time. That doesn’t mean Luke and Reggie aren’t better about what’s got Alex all tied up in knots. He thinks it’s a new guy, and Reggie thinks it’s an old family thing.

Luke takes a lap around the room and takes in all of the bursts of color. It’s clear that Julie’s an artist in her own right. There’s musical influences all over, whether that’s posters of bands, CDs stacked in the corner, or scraps of old sheet music laying out on her keyboard. He’s on his second round when he notices the box. It’s white with doodles all over, something clearly loved and taken care of. Now this looks like something good.

“What are you guys doing in my room?” Julie demands as she walks in. _Busted._

“We were looking for the kitchen?” Luke asks, hand outstretched toward the box. Alex and Reggie trip over themselves with more excuses. 

“This? _This_. Can’t happen! It’s creepy. Get off my bed please?” She waves an arm at Reggie who immediately hops off the mattress and runs to Alex’s side for protection.

“Hey Julie,” Luke asks, hoping for a distraction. “What’s in the box?”

“That’s off limits.”

“Oh ok. Girl stuff,” he says with a laugh, trying to cut some of the tension.

“Oh, like butterflies and glitter?” Reggie asks.

“Oh come on, I’m sorry about them,” Alex cuts in. 

“It’s none of your business. And yes, there may be some glitter.” Julie’s got her arms crossed, and she’s closing in on herself. 

That’s not what Luke was aiming for at all. And yes, they shouldn’t have been in her room without permission, but there’s only so much a dead group of guys can do to keep themselves entertained. And the fact that she’s the only person that can see them? When she’s not around there’s even less they can do. Might as well explore, right?

Alex, in an attempt to change the subject, tries to grab the photo frame one more time. He’s successful, and then immediately drops it. Thank god it lands on the mattress and doesn’t break. Julie immediately grabs it and tells them to stop touching her stuff. Fair point.

The box is still calling his name and Luke can’t stop thinking about it. It seems special, and he just has to know what it’s all about.

“Julie?”

“Oh my gosh, I thought I told you to leave that alone!” she says.

“I know! You just should have said nothing because now I can’t stop thinking about it. So, what’s in the box, Julie?”

“It’s just my dream box, ok? Whenever I have a thought or something, I write it down to get it out of my mind.”

“Like lyrics?” he asks. Does she write her own stuff? How can so much talent fit into such a small -- and ok, very cute -- package?

“They would be if I still did that sort of thing. After my mom died, I just kind of stopped putting anything to music.”

There’s that sadness again, slowly creeping into her. Luke can almost taste the change in the air and he jumps down from the stool he’d been standing on to reach the box.

“Hey, it’s ok. Sorry about messing with it. I’ve got a journal like that, and I don’t really let people see it without permission.”

“Yeah, even we don’t get to see a lot of the pages,” Alex pipes in.

“Sometimes I try to add pages, like from songs I write, and he gets mad,” Reggie says.

“That’s because you want to write songs about horses.” Alex nudges Reggie’s side. “So I don’t blame him. But, Julie, you do still play! We heard you this morning.”

Luke and Reggie smack Alex on either arm and he steps away from both of them to the far side of the room.

“In the garage? You heard that?” Julie asks, surprise and a little bit of hurt in her tone. “Wow, way to eavesdrop.”

“We couldn’t help it, we just came back and you were singing,” Reggie says with his hands lifted up in a placating manner. “You are amazing!”

“Yeah, so good,” Alex compliments.

“That’s not the point! I was singing for my mom and didn’t want an audience!” Julie lets out a frustrated breath. “I didn’t expect anyone to hear me.”

“We’re sorry,” Alex says, his lips pulled down in a frown. “We didn’t mean to.”

“Whatever,” Julie grumbles. She’s looking anywhere but at them, as if she’s ashamed or embarrassed about what she did this morning. Luke can’t stand it. She should be shouting from the rooftops with that telnet, not sinking into herself.

“So anyway,” he cuts in. Luke lays out on the mattress and props his head up on his hand. “Where is the kitchen, you know, for future reference?”

“Downstairs.” She says it like it’s obvious, which it definitely is because it’s one of the first things you see when you come into the house.

Luke gives her his best smile, the one that he knows can make people lose their train of thought if he tries hard enough, and hopes her anger abates a little. Alex grabs his ankle like he knows what Luke’s trying to do and doesn’t agree.

“Ok, we need to set some boundaries,” Julie says. “For starters, stay out of my room!”

“You are so right, and we’re definitely leaving right now,” Reggie says as he scurries to the other side of the room and out the door. Alex follows right after him.

“Yeah, ok. But you should know how insanely talented you are and that you’ve got the power to move people,” Luke says. Julie rolls her eyes as he gets up from her bed. “And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. You’re really gifted Julie.”

She huffs and turns away from him to grab her laptop. “Yeah, well tell that to my arts program. They kicked me out, so I must not be that talented.”

“You weren’t able to get back in?” Luke asks. He scratches that back of his neck and bites his lip. “That’s insane, how can they do that?”

“I’m too late. There’s another student coming in and I lost my spot.”

“That sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well. I’d like to be alone now if you don’t mind.”

“Sure,” he says and heads to the door. “We’ll see you later? Maybe we can play something we’ve been working on for you if you come out of the garage tonight.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she says. She’s not looking at him. “I’ll think about it.”

“Ok.” Luke’s almost through the door when he leans back to look back at her. “Hey Julie?”

“Hmm?” She looks back toward him after a moment.

“You really did sound great this morning.”

She takes a deep breath and lets the words dangle between them for a second. It’s like she can’t fully accept them, the weight of the phrase and what it means. As she exhales, the tension from the day seems to melt away and she offers a small smile his way.

“Thanks, Luke.”

“Anytime.” He flashes a smile before passing through the door and leaving her be. Alex is still standing in the hallway and quirks and eyebrow at him. “What?”

“You know what.” He shakes his head and starts heading down the stairs with Luke right on his heels. “Just be careful, dude.”

“What do you mean, be careful? I’m not being anything.”

“Mmhmm.” Alex shakes his head and pulls Luke the rest of the way down the stairs. He ruffle’s Luke’s hair as they walk through the back door. “You think I don’t know what you look like when you’re like when you’re getting a crush?”

Luke rolls his eyes and pushes Alex away from him. “I’m not.”

“You so are,” Alex says with a good-natured grin.

“No way, she just deserves to know she’s good and someone to tell her to not give up on music.”

“Yeah, ok.” Alex let’s it drop for the moment as they walk toward the garage. “I think Reggie wanted to practice the bridge to that new song you’re writing. Want to practice?”

“Hell yeah,” Luke says with a grin and runs off with Alex chasing after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **PLEASE READ!!**  
>  ****Julie and the boys are going to have their ages hiked up a bit in this fic because there's going to be some maturer content (cursing, expanding on the darker themes, possible sexy times we'll see where it goes) coming your way, and I'd like them to all be legal adults in my universe. The fic will follow the basic plot of the show, but one of the major changes will be age. **Julie will be 18 and the boys will be 19.*****
> 
> **as always, if the characters being older and having mature themes and the possibility of a physical relationship between julie/luke is something you don't like, this isn't the fic for you. Thanks for stopping by though and I hope you find another good fic to read!**
> 
> Please feel free to share this link with others, bookmark, like, etc! I also love reading your feedback and comments!  
> Please don't repost anywhere! I put a lot of time an effort into this, so please feel free to enjoy on AO3!
> 
> This has not been beta'd. We live and post on the edge [of great] here.

“Julie! Hey Julie!”

Julie groans and buries her face deeper into her pillow. She knows that voice and it’s got to be the dead of night right now. No way is she going to answer him.

“Julie!”

He’s a little more urgent now and there could be something wrong, but what could possibly go wrong with a ghost? Nothing, that’s what. Julie pulls the covers further over her head and tries to block him out.

That’s when something soft and dense hits her head. She bolts upright and glares in his general direction. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight filtering through her curtains but she can make him out clear enough. Luke is standing at the side of her bed with a shit eating grin on his face like always.

“ _What_ Luke? What could you possibly want at,” she checks the clock on her bedside table, “3:42 in the morning? And did you just throw a pillow at me?”

“Well I had to get you up somehow!” At her answering glare he rushes to continue, “I had this awesome idea, well the boys helped me finish it up, but I mean-”

“Luke!”

“Ok, ok. So I know how you can get back into your music program.”

“And this couldn’t wait until the morning?” She reaches for the lamp and has to blink against the sudden brightness.

“I was talking with the boys, and we were trying to think of how to help since you’ve been so great about letting us crash in your garage. And, well, I remembered I wrote this song a few weeks before we died. We never got to record it and I think it’d be perfect for your range.”

  
“Ok?” Her mind is still half asleep and she rubs her forehead to try to get all the cogs going. “Again, not sure why this needs to happen right now.”

“You said earlier that there was another student coming in to take your spot. What if you could prove to your school you deserve your place back before they are able to enroll the new kid? There’s no way they would kick you out if they knew how insanely talented you are. You just need to sing and they’ll have to let you back in. And I’ve got the perfect song for you.” Luke is almost vibrating with excitement at this point. He bounces back and forth on the balls of his feet and bites his lip as he peers down at her. 

Julie shivers against the night air and realizes three things simultaneously. One, there’s a boy in her room and her dad would kill her if he ever found out. Two, there’s a boy in her room and she’s wearing an oversized t-shirt and underwear with only a light blanket for cover. And three, there’s an _annoying boy with beautiful eyes and shaggy hair and, god, so many delicious arm muscles on full display standing at the edge of her bed_. She reflexively reaches down to pull the blanket closer to her body and tries to think about anything else.

Oblivious, Luke barrels on.

“And the new student probably starts soon right? So you need to perform as soon as possible. Like today. It’s time to take your music program back!” Luke sits down on the edge of the bed, and it’s so weird the mattress doesn’t move at all under his weight.

“I see where you’re going with this. But they’ve already told me no.”

Luke shakes his head quickly. “Never take no for an answer in situations like this. You have to take life by the reigns here, Julie, or you’ll never get what you want. Sunset Curve booked shows by doing. We’d play whenever and however we could, and asked forgiveness instead of permission. That’s how we worked our way up to the spot at the Orpheum.” He reaches out as if to touch her leg through the covers in his earnestness, but then seems to remember himself and pulls back. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Julie says. “You couldn’t have really touched me anyway.”

“I-yeah, I guess.” Luke clears his throat and nods to himself, shifting his weight from side to side. “We’re going to get you back in that music program if it’s the last thing we do. Here,” he says as he hands her a slip of paper. It’s soft to the touch and pretty crinkled, as if it’s been stuffed inside the pocket of someone’s pants for decades. Which, maybe that’s exactly where it’s been. “This is called Bright, I wrote it about how Sunset Curve was going to be famous and live out our dreams together.”

Julie glances over the paper and reads a few lines. It’s a beautiful song about a found family braving the world and achieving the impossible.

“Wow, Luke. This is great.”

Luke bites his lip and blushes. He looks down and rubs the back of his neck like he didn’t just have the confidence to bust into her room in the middle of the night and make her read what he’d written.

“Thanks. Um, here, let me sing a bit of the chorus for you so you can hear the melody I was thinking about.”

_And we’ll rise through the night_ _  
_ _You and I, we will fight to shine together  
_ _Bright forever._

It’s simple enough that Julie chimes in with him on the repeated phrasing.

_And we’ll rise through the night  
_ _You and I, we will fight to shine together_

“And go up high,” Luke instructs, flipping his fingers into the air. Julie nods and watches him nod her into the next beat.

_Bright together._

It’s a pretty harmony, the tones of their voices seamlessly melding together. Julie grins, and so does he, and now they’re both just watching each other as the sound fades.

“Perfect,” Luke says after a moment. It comes out a little rough and he clears his throat as he looks away. “So yeah, I know it’s super early but the boys are up and can practice it with you if you’d like. I really think this’ll help.”

Julie looks down at her blanket and runs her fingers over the shapes in the fabric. She contemplates it for a second, so many thoughts running through her head. Should she do it? What if she chokes again? It’ll be even more embarrassing if she tries to do this last ditch effort and can’t make any sound come out of her mouth, let alone touch a piano.

“I don’t know,” she says. She feels ashamed just thinking about it. Her mom would be so disappointed.

“Hey, no, don’t put yourself down. I can see what you’re doing and you shouldn’t let fear control you like this.” Luke stands up and walks toward the window to look outside. “The boys are out there and ready if you are. We’ll be cheering you on the whole time. We can even come to watch you perform.”

“Yeah, because that’ll help. That’s even more people!”

“But it’s just us!” Luke paces back toward Julie and spreads out across the foot of her mattress. His hands come up behind his head as he settles on his back and he gazes up at her ceiling. “Reggie’s a total dork and will love anything you do. Alex will be there waving pom poms and cheering if you really want him to.” He turns his head and locks eyes with her. “And you’ve got me too.”

“You too? How do I know you won’t laugh?” Julie knows it’s ridiculous, knows that she’s had them in her life for a little over a month now and they’ve been nothing but some of the most supportive and genuinely nice guys she’s ever met. It’s just that the weight of Luke’s gaze makes her want to squirm out of her skin and she’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

“Of course I won’t laugh,” Luke says, his eyebrows pulling down into a frown. He takes on a serious tone when he says, “Julie, I’d never laugh at you. Plus, you’ll do amazing, so there’s no need to worry. You’ve got this.”

Julie takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She wishes her mom was here to tell her what to do. But she knows what she would say. She should go for it.

“Ok. Let me change and I’ll be out there in a minute. We’ve got to be quiet though, we can’t wake my dad or Carlos.”

Luke freezes. His eyes drop down to her shirt and then back up to her face, as if he’s just now registering her pajamas. He scrambles off of the bed as if it’s made of lava and nearly trips over his own feet trying to get to the other side of the room. There’s a soft flush of pink creeping up his neck and into his cheeks when he stammers out, “Ye-yeah, I’m going to, um, I’m going to let you do that. I’ll be in the garage, and, um, yeah.”

Julie laughs and rolls her eyes. “See you in a minute.” She valiantly tries to fight down her own blush.

He runs a hand nervously through his hair and pauses by the window to glance back at her. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he wanted an extra moment to take her in, but that’d be ridiculous. With a quirk of his lips that does weird things to her insides, he flickers out of view. Julie waits a few more seconds to make sure he’s really gone before she jumps out of bed and walks over to her dresser to throw on a pair of sweats. She glances in the mirror and, yikes, is that what her hair looked like this whole time?

She tries to sort it out with her fingers as much as possible and then steps into her slippers as she walks out the door. It’s a quick trek down the stairs, with a few strategically placed steps over the loose boards in the kitchen, and a quick run to the garage.

“Julie!” Reggie calls as she shuts the door behind her. There are a few lamps on, which cast the room in a soft warm glow. Reggie’s sitting on her piano bench with his base propped up on his knee.

“Hey Reggie,” she greets. “Hey Alex.”

“Look at you up so early!” Alex teases from the couch. She sits down next to him with a sigh and throws an arm over her eyes. 

“Don’t remind me.”

Alex and Reggie laugh and Luke sits down on the coffee table in front of them, all business.

“Ok, so I figured we can play as quietly as possible without plugging into anything, and hopefully it won’t wake anyone,” Luke says. He puts his pick between his teeth and reaches out to hand her his lyrics.

“This is so exciting, I love this song,” Reggie says, grinning ear to ear and already fiddling with the strings of his base.

“We’ll play through what we have once or twice to give you a feel for it, and then we can go through each verse a little slower. You’ll obviously be playing this on a piano, so once you are comfortable with the melody we can think through how that all translates,” Luke instructs. Julie nods and Luke looks to Alex with a nod of his own.

“One, two, one, two, three, four,” Alex says, tapping his chest. He then picks up the beat using his legs and chest as his drums. Luke and Reggie start playing on the next four count.

Julie sits back and watches them all in their element. Alex is all smooth control, as if he’s finally got a way to channel the anxious energy he seems to carry around. He smiles at his friends and nods along with them in silent encouragement. Reggie, who is constantly a ray of sunshine, sways back and forth on the bench as he strums his base. His voice flows effortlessly, so sure in the way he compliments Luke’s leading vocals.

And Luke, well Luke is something else when he sings. Even though he’s being quiet, there’s so much passion exuding from every part of him. He’s got his eyes squeezed tight and he’s shifting back and forth as if he wants to stand and jump around to the lyrics. His voice is beautiful, with enough brass in it to add a bit of grit and emotion, but clear enough that the sound remains pure. 

Julie finds herself watching him the most, even though each of the boys are captivating in their own right. On the final chorus, Luke opens his eyes and suddenly he’s looking right back at her. She feels caught in his gaze and finds herself joining into the mix of voices to round out the melody. The smile she receives is blinding.

“Wow, that was so good you guys,” Julie compliments when they finish. “This song really is beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Luke says as he ducks his head.

Alex hands Julie a blank piece of music paper and a pen. “We’ll go through again and you can write down what you’re thinking for the piano.”

The boys start to play once more and Julie has them stop and start at different parts of the song. She loves writing music like this. It feels like the rhythm flows into her and out through her pen as she quickly scribbles down the notes she’ll need to play. The boys have suggestions for a few changes, and she gives them feedback too. They’re all in this to collaborate, and the artistry is something she’s missed so much since her mom passed away.

They work for hours and the sun is rising as Julie finishes a final run through. The boys have made her do a few test runs without them playing their instruments so she can get used to how the song sounds on piano alone. And while she wishes they can be included and fill out the sound a bit more, she feels like she’s got a good grasp on it. It helps that whenever she stumbles or gets frustrated, she just has to look up at her three overgrown cheerleaders and their enthusiastic smiles.

“Thank you guys,” she says around a yawn. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“No problem,” Reggie says. He checks his watch and rubs at his eyes. Even ghosts, it seems, need rest. “It looks like you’ve got to get ready for school. Ray should be up cooking breakfast soon.”

Julie quirks an eyebrow at him. “How do you know what time my dad makes breakfast?”

“Ray and I are old friends. I like helping him around the kitchen,” Reggie defends.

“More like he likes watching Ray sing to himself while he makes breakfast,” Alex says with a laugh. He stands up to stretch and helps Julie gather her pages. “You’re rocking this song by the way.”

“Thanks, Alex.” She smiles at him and then turns to each of them one by one. “Thank you all. It really means a lot.” 

“Of course,” Luke says. “So you’re going after school to track down your music teacher right?”

“Yeah, I will. School ends at 3:30. I’ll try to catch her then.”

“We’ll be there,” Luke says with a glance at the boys who also nod their agreement.

“You don’t have to-”

“No, we will.” Luke repeats. He claps his hands together and nods toward the door. “You better get back in before your dad catches you.”

Julie turns toward the door and tries to hide her smile at the thought of the boys coming to support her. She’s glad they want to. Maybe she won’t feel so alone when she’s on stage anymore.

“Ok, see you at 3:30,” she calls behind her as she slips out the garage door.

* * *

“You’re going to try out again?” Flynn asks excitedly as they sit down for lunch in the cafeteria. “Julie! I am so happy for you! They have to let you back in, there’s no other option.”

Julie shrugs and tries to force down the cafeteria food. Her stomach has been in knots all day just thinking about performing. It’s like as soon as she stepped into the hallway this morning all of the warmth and brightness from this morning’s jam session faded away.

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, it’ll be fine, I’m just freaking out a little bit. And super tired from practicing early this morning.”

Flynn reaches over and squeezes her hand. “I’ll come with you and you can just look at me while you sing. Just pretend no one else is there.”

“Easy for you to say,” Julie mutters. 

It’s complicated, what she’s feeling. It’s like she knows she can do it, and she knows she’s got support in so many different corners. Flynn will be there, and so will the boys, and her dad would even drop everything to come if she asked him. But she’s always terrified of letting everyone down again if she’s struck mute as soon as the attention falls on her.

“Hey, why don’t you take a little bit and pray to your mom about it before you go in? Maybe she’ll send you a sign that things will be ok.”

Julie can feel tears prickling in her eyes just thinking about what her mom would do if she were here. She sniffs, looks up at Flynn’s warm brown eyes, and tries for a smile. Flynn reaches over and hugs her before switching topics to lighten the mood.

* * *

The bell rings and it takes every ounce of strength Julie has to move from her seat. She walks slowly down the hall toward the music room and sees her teacher coming down the hall toward her. In a moment of panic, she ducks into a nearby bathroom to hide.

_So stupid!_ Julie smacks her forehead with the palm of her hand. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm the tremors wracking through her body. _You can do this. You know how to sing, just do it!_

Julie thinks back to what Flynn said at lunch and takes a quick look under the stalls to make sure no one is around. Then she shuts her eyes and takes a few more deep breaths. 

“Mom, I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I don’t know if I can do this. It hurts too much and I’m scared of what’ll happen. You know I’ve always needed to see you before I perform. You always knew exactly what to say. If you...if you can hear me, please let me know it’ll be ok.”

Not two seconds later there’s a voice at the door.

“Julie?”

_Luke_.

“Yeah?” she calls through the door.

“We poofed in right as you ran in there. Are you ok?”

Julie wishes the ground would swallow her whole. This is so embarrassing. 

“I’m fine, Luke. I just need a minute.”

She can hear angry whispers back and forth outside and turns on the tap to block them out. She’s staring into the mirror and rubbing cool water over her neck when a tell-tale pink hoodied body slides through the door. He’s got his eyes covered and is pulled in on himself like he knows there might be retaliation for his actions.

“Is anyone else in here?” Alex asks.

Julie sighs and shuts the water off.

“No, just me.”

“Good,” Alex drops his hands and takes her in for a second. “I wish I could give you a hug, but, you know, a ghost.” That at least makes Julie smile a little. “Luke’s mad I wouldn’t let him come in here, and Reggie’s doing his part to hold him back, so we’ve only got a few minutes without him barging in. I’m going to let you in on a little secret about how I deal with stage fright.”

Alex walks over to her and she turns to face him. He looks determined, if a little hesitant, and nods to himself before he starts talking again.

“I...I’m gay, if you didn’t know.”

Julie can’t help but really smile at him now and she shrugs as she says, “Yeah, I know Alex. And that’s really great.”

He smiles and looks down at his hands as he continues to talk. “And, because my parents weren’t there to cheer me on when I was performing, I needed to come up with a way to do it myself. The boys are also great hype guys, and I know it’s not the same, but it’s really up to you how you’re going to feel about performing. I know you’re talented, Luke and Reggie know you’re talented, and the whole world should know too.”

“I’m just scared,” Julie says, honesty bleeding through her voice. “What if I fail again?”

“You’re not going to. You know why? Because you, Julie Molina, are a badass who is going to rock this shit.”

Julie laughs and shakes her head.

“Yes. You are. And I know this works because this is what I do too. Now say it with me. I’m a badass and going to rock this shit.”

“No,” she groans. “Alex, I can’t.”

“Yes. You can. Don’t make me unleash Luke and Reggie’s puppy eyes on you.”

Julie sighs and rolls her eyes. She is feeling a lot better, and what could it hurt?

“Alright, fine.” Alex grins in victory and together they chant, “I’m a badass and going to rock this shit!”

“Again!” Alex says, energy building.

“I’m a badass and going to rock this shit!”

Alex pumps his fist into the air and turns back toward the door. “Now let’s do it!”

Julie follows him out feeling a million times lighter. Reggie and Luke are crowded around the door as they exit.

“Everything ok?” Luke asks, nervously scratching at his jaw.

“Yeah, I’m good now. Thanks to Alex.”

“Aw, don’t mention it,” Alex says with a flick of his wrist.

“Let’s do this!” Reggie cheers motions for them to get going.

The boys trail after Julie as she walks toward the music room. When she enters it’s empty except for Flynn, who is fiddling with her trumpet on one of the chairs.

“There you are!” Flynn nearly shouts. “I was looking all over for you! We totally forgot about the pep rally. You just missed Mrs. Samuels. I tried to stall her for as long as possible but she and everyone else are probably in the gym by now.”

“Damn it!” Julie throws a glance over her shoulder at the guys.

“No!” Reggie frustrated runs a hand through his hair. “What are we going to do now?”

“Easy. Julie’s just going to perform at the pep rally.” Luke says it so calmly, like that one sentence doesn’t rock her entire world.

“I’m going to what now?” Julie squeaks, staring at him.

He holds out his hands in a placating manner, like he knows she’s about to freak out again. “This is perfect. Everyone will have to see what you can do. They can’t turn you away if the whole school loves you.”

“Luke-” Alex tries to cut in.

“Uhhh,” Flynn says, and Julie quickly turns back to her. “Don’t know what’s going on right now, but we could at least go check out the rally if you’re up for it? Maybe you can find Mrs. Samuels and see if she can talk to you afterwards?”

“Sure,” Julie says and follows Flynn out the door. She shakes her head at Luke as she passes him and Luke rolls his eyes with an exasperated sigh. 

“Julie,” he says as he and the rest of the gang trail behind her. “I didn’t give you the song if I didn’t think you would rock it. This is your chance.”

The auditorium is full of people watching the colorful, high-energy display that is Dirty Candi. Julie stops to watch for a moment, always secretly impressed at Carrie’s ability to sing and dance the way she does.

“So, wild thought here,” Flynn says beside her. “But there’s a piano up on the stage over there. Maybe you can ask Mrs. Samuels to listen to you there?”

“Yes!” Reggie agrees.

Julie eyes the piano and the crowd. Under his breath, Alex repeats their montra. He’s standing close behind her, and she doesn’t think either of the boys can hear him, so it’s just meant for her. She steels herself before taking a step toward the stage.

“Ok, I’m going to do it.”

“Yes!” Flynn cheers. “I’ll go track down Mrs. Samuels and you go get set up.”

Dirty Candi strikes their final pose and Carrie tells everyone to follow her on all of her social media.

Luke comes to stand beside her with barely an inch between them. If he weren’t a ghost, maybe she’d be able to feel the warmth from his skin. His eyes flick over her face and he smiles. It’s a smile she can’t help but return.

“You’ve got this.”

Julie nods, tries to bring in all of the determination she can muster, and marches toward the stage. The students are standing up from their seats now and starting to file out, but she ignores them. As she sits, Julie gently places her fingers over the keys and finds Flynn in the audience talking with Mrs. Samuels. She quickly looks over to the side to see the boys all with their thumbs up and grinning at her. Alex starts to nod on beat, counting her in, his lips silently forming the words, _one, two, three, four._ And she plays.

_Sometimes I think I’m falling down  
_ _I want to cry, I’m calling out  
_ _For one more try to feel alive_

There are students looking her way now, but the music is starting to flow through her veins again. And just like this morning, it gives her the power to keep going.

_Life is a risk but I will take it.  
_ _Close my eyes and jump.  
_ _Together I know that we will make it,  
_ _Come on let’s run!_

And suddenly she can hear the strum of Luke’s guitar cutting through the air. She glances up from the keys and the boys are right beside her, playing along with her. She can’t help it, she laughs. Luke nods in encouragement before turning back to Alex and Reggie and playing along with them.

Julie is moving toward them and away from the piano before she even realizes she’s made the decision to. It’s like a magnetic pull to be surrounded by them. As she continues the song, she can hear cheers from the crowd. It’s an electric, joyful energy and she wants to bathe in it.

It’s only when Reggie stumbles on a note that she looks over at him and notices he’s staring out at the crowd with a look of shock. She turns out toward the audience and notices how many people are staring at her. Wait, not just her, _them._

In the few beats between the chorus and next verse she turns to find Luke watching the crowd, his face alight with amazement.

“Uh, is this really happening?”

“Just go with it!” Luke says as he runs for the mic to take the next verse.

And she does, just rolls with it because there’s not much else to do. Luke begins to sing, full chested and vibrant as ever, and Julie turns back to Alex and Reggie to dance it out. She lets herself fall back into the gloriousness of the melody and the feeling of being a part of something greater than herself.

_And rise through the night,  
_ _You and I, we will fight to shine together.  
_ _Bright forever._

Luke picks up the first few lines of the next verse and she catches his eye as she walks toward him. He swoops down to sing directly into her mic and it’s like everything disappears for a moment as he sings directly to her. He’s all she can see, and all the joy he’s exuding rushes through her. When he shifts behind her and lets her take center stage, she’s not scared to take in her audience. She fully opens up to the praises that are being sent her way and revels in it.

And then it’s the final note and she takes her bow. The sound of gasps has her looking back toward the boys, but she’s utterly alone on the stage.

“What just happened?” says someone in the crowd. Julie’s mind goes blank and all of the anxiety from earlier rushes back.

“Was that like a projection or something? That was so cool!”

And yes, ok, she can work with that maybe. And so the lie begins falling out of her mouth as quickly as she can formulate it. She feels like she’s talking a mile a minute and jumbling all her words, but the audience seems to nod as if she’s saying something believable.

The boys have appeared back behind the crowd and look just as flustered as she does. And behind them is Flynn, open mouthed with her arms crossed. As soon as the crowd starts to disperse, Julie tries to make her way over to Flynn to somehow start to explain, to say something to make it better. She’s stopped by Mrs. Samuels who gushes about the performances and promises to get the paperwork started on Monday to get her reinstated into the program. And while that’s everything Julie wanted to hear a few minutes ago, Flynn’s angry stance out the corner of her eye is all she can think about.

“Thanks,” Julie tells her teacher. “I really appreciate it.” Then she sidesteps and walks over to her friend.

“First, I just want to say that that was totally awesome. But, seriously, where did all of that come from and why didn’t you tell me you had three cute guys performing with you?” Flynn asks.

“Uh,” Julie stammers at a loss. “It’s just something I’ve been working on to, um, get my confidence up. You know, not having to sing alone and everything.”

“And you couldn’t share that with me? Who were they anyway?”

“Just some guys I found on the internet who wanted to be part of a virtual band. I’ve been spending way too much time on YouTube, you know me.”

Flynn narrows her eyes and tilts her head. “Are you lying to me?”

Julie’s never been great at keeping secrets from her best friend, let alone something this big. And telling bold faced lies has never worked out in her favor. But what can she say? Yes, I’m lying. I’m hanging out with ghosts! Flynn would think she was crazy.

“I-” Julie thrusts her hands into her pockets and tries not to look guilty. “It’s complicated. I promise I’ll tell you, but I’ve just got to find a way to do it.”

Flynn frowns and shakes her head. “What do you mean? Why can’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“I just can’t right now, ok? I don’t even know what’s going on. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Flynn rolls her eyes. “Sure, ok. Whatever. Congrats on getting back in the program but I’m going to head out. See you Monday.” And then she storms off.

Julie sighs and runs a hand over the top of her hair. What is she supposed to tell people?

“Julie!” Luke calls as the boys run up to her. “That was so awesome! They could all see us!”  
  


“Yeah, I thought people could only hear us, but for some reason, when we started playing with you, it’s like we became visible again. That’s so weird,” Alex says.

“Not going to lie, it kind of freaked me out when it first happened.” Reggie shrugs, mostly unbothered now. “But after that it was cool.”

“Yeah, it’s still kind of freaking me out. I don’t get how that even happened.”

“Us either,” Alex admits.

“Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth here,” Luke says. “People can see us when we perform together! That’s everything we could have ever dreamed of.”

“How did you guys even get up on stage with me?” Julie asks.

“I think it’s probably because we wanted to play with you like we did in the garage, and then it just kind of happened. It’s how our poofing works -- we think of what we want or where we want to go, and then we’re there,” Alex says.

“Weird.” The boys nod in unison, and there’s no denying they’re still high on performing.

“You don’t look as stoked as we are that you just crushed that performance,” Reggie says with a tilt of his head.

“I think it went great, it’s just Flynn. She knows I’m keeping something from her and she’s mad at me.”

“You should just tell her, she seems cool,” Luke suggests.

“Yeah, and risk her telling my dad that I’ve gone crazy? I’ll need to see my therapist again if she does that, or maybe even a psychiatrist or something.”

“Yeah, ok so maybe not.” Reggie winces at the thought. “But who knows, if you tell her in the right way she could come around.”

“Maybe. Look guys, I’ve got to get going to meet my dad out front. I’ll see later?”

“Definitely,” Luke says. Alex and Reggie shimmer out of view and Luke watches them disappear. Then he steps a little closer. “You really did an amazing job today, Julie. You didn’t need us but I’m glad we were able to play together.”

“Thanks, you guys sounded great too.”

Luke smiles, his eyes crinkling soft at the edges, and they stand there in a moment of quiet together. The spell is broken by her phone buzzing in her pocket.

“I’ll see you later,” Luke says before he winks and disappears. Julie shakes her head and heads to the parking lot.

* * *

Julie groans in frustration as she throws her phone down on the couch beside her. The TV’s on low as her brother does his homework in the chair on the other side of the room. He glances up from his math problems.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Flynn still won’t text me,” she tells him. It’s been three days, and today was the first day back to school after the pep rally. Flynn avoided her all day, and when Julie did manage to catch her in the hallway she’d immediately turned the other way.

“What are you two fighting about anyway?” Carlos puts his pencil down and settles into the chair a little more. He’s clearly giving up on his homework for the near future.

“She’s mad because she thinks I’m lying about something.”

“Well, are you?”

“I guess, but it’s hard to explain.”

“Just tell her what’s going on, she’s your friend. And if you can’t tell her, you should tell me,” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“I can’t tell you,” Julie argues. The flash in Carlos’ eyes says he’s more intrigued than ever so she thinks quickly. “It’s about, um, girl stuff.”

That does it. He sticks his tongue out and makes a gagging noise.

“Well then I really can’t see why you can’t talk to Flynn about it. She’s a girl.”

“I just can’t ok? I wouldn’t even know how.”

Carlos is quiet for a minute as he thinks. This is why she’s so glad she has a brother like him. He can be a pain in the butt and get into all of her things, but when she comes to him for help he’s always there to think things through and help her.

“Maybe you can do something to make it up to her. Like, I don’t know. Get her a gift or write her a song or something to say you’re sorry.”

That gives Julie pause. She thinks about that poem that’s been sitting in her dream box for the past year and how she’s never been brave enough to give it to Flynn.

“You know what, Carlos? That’s a great idea.” 

Julie jumps up from the couch and smacks a kiss on the top of his head before running up the stairs. She carefully opens her box, pulls out the right paper and rereads it for the millionth time. Flynn has been everything for to since her mom died, and Julie can’t lose her now over something so small. Maybe she can do both -- apologize and explain ghosts at the same time. She’ll just need a little help to do it.

* * *

Flynn opens the garage door and peeks her head in. Julie can tell she’s trying to still act mad, but the separation has had a toll on her too.

“Hey,” Julie greets as she walks up to Flynn and gives her a quick hug. “I know you’re still mad at me, but I’m hoping I can explain everything.”

“Sure,” Flynn says with a sniff. “I’d like to hear it.”

“First, there’s no holograms. The boys, and bare with me on this, are ghosts.”

Flynn snorts and shakes her head. “Yeah, right. Good one.”

“I’m serious. And before you do anything drastic, I can prove it.”

She guides Flynn over to the chair and listens as the boys move around the space and settle into their instruments.

“Ready when you are,” Luke says behind her.

Julie walks over to her sound board and starts it up.

“I wrote you a poem after my mom d-” she takes a breath, “well, after everything, and the boys helped me put it to music. So just wait until the song is over and I’ll try to answer all of your questions.”

And then she starts to play. It’s almost comical when Flynn jumps in her chair as the boys come in for the chorus. The ball of stress that’s been eating away at Julie for days begins to slowly unravel as Flynn interacts with the guys and takes it all in.

“They’re ghosts!” she says as the song’s finishing.

“We prefer musician spirits,” Alex chimes in. He plays the last of his beats.

“No they don’t, ignore them.” Julie puts her arm around Flynn and pulls her into a hug. “You see why I couldn’t just tell you? It really is complicated.”

“Yeah,” Flynn says as she hugs her back. “I forgive you, but don’t ever keep something like this a secret again.”

“Deal,” she says with a laugh as she pulls away.

“Wait, where did they go?” Flynn asks as she frantically looks around.

“We’re right here!” Reggie waves his arms around, and Julie shakes her head at him.

“We’re not sure why, but they disappear once the music stops. We’re just kind of rolling with it right now.” Flynn continues to suspiciously eye her surroundings as Julie steps away. “They won’t mess with you, you’re safe,” she teases. “Isn’t that right boys?”

“Right!” Reggie and Alex say in unison. Julie eyes Luke’s mischievous grin until he schools his face into something a little more wholesome and gives a firm nod.

“I’m assuming they’ll listen to you,” Flynn says as she relaxes into her stance a little more. “This is so crazy.”

“You’re telling me,” Julie says. “This is my life now.”

“Hey Julie,” Luke cuts in. “We were talking earlier, actually, and would you maybe want to join our band?”

“Uhhh,” Julie searches for her words. Is she ready for that?

“What?” Flynn asks, eyes trained toward the wall and just to the right of Luke as she tries to follow Julie’s gaze.

“They’re asking me to join their band, Sunset Curve,” she explains.

“Um, no.” Flynn answers. Luke sits up straighter and raises his eyebrows at them. “They’d be joining your band.”

_Her_ band. Now that’s a thought.

“Yeah, what she said,” Julie says.

Luke shares his head at her, but he’s smiling like he just won the lottery. With a quick glance at Reggie and Alex, she can tell they’re also excited about the idea. All of them continuing to play together? There are so many possibilities to explore.

“Great, and I’ll be your social media manager.” Flynn raises her chin in the air and flips her hair behind her shoulder. “I’ll start working on a name.”

Reggie laughs at her go-getter attitude and fondly says, “I like her.”

Julie looks around at her little group of friends, of people who have her back, and can’t help but smile.

“So now that I’m over here, we should do something fun. It’s warm out, maybe we can go lay out and listen to some music?” Flynn suggests. “I told my mom I’d be back by eight.”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go change and we can chill out,” Julie says. She turns back to the boys who are putting away their instruments. “You’re welcome to hang too if you want.”

She follows Flynn out the door and back into the house. Carlos waves at them from the kitchen table where he’s doing some sort of science experiment -- Julie has learned not to ask. When they make it to her room, Flynn shuts the door and jumps on the bed.

“So,” she says with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “What’s it like having three super hot guys secretly live with you?”

Julie can’t help but laugh as she goes to her closet to pull out a pair of shorts and a sports bra.

“They aren’t living with me. They’re living in the garage.”

“Same difference. Either way, they’re hot and you get to see them every day.”

“I mean, I guess. We’re all growing to be friends, so, you know, that’s cool. And don’t get me wrong, I definitely notice that they’re not...unattractive...but, I don’t know. I don’t want it to be weird.”

“Julie. Nothing’s stopping you from looking, girl.” Flynn pulls off her shirt and adjusts her own sports bra and shorts so they sit right. “I know I will be the next time you all perform. Just don’t, like, start liking one of them. They are still dead.”

“Ok, this is getting weird. I’m going to go change.” Julie hurries off to the bathroom.

Once she’s alone, she changes and tries to keep thoughts of how attractive a certain ghost boy living in her garage really is. But, god, those eyes and that smile. How can he not make her weak? It doesn’t matter, she tells herself. Nothing can happen with that. Flynn just said it, they’re all dead. And with them staying with her and now in a band together, she doesn’t want things to get awkward with ill-fated attraction.

“Ok, ready to go,” Julie says as she pulls the door open.

Flynn follows her downstairs and out through the back. They each pull a lawn chair out into the middle of the yard. The sun feels nice on her exposed skin, and Julie tips her head up to the sky.

“Shit,” she hears off to the right. She turns her head to see Luke falling forward into the grass and Reggie and Alex laughing hysterically behind him.

“What?” she calls over to them.

Luke groans on the ground and stays down to stare up at the sky.

“Oh nothing,” Alex answers in a sing-song voice. “Don’t worry about it. Luke is just clumsy.”

“Alex,” Luke warns.

“What?” Flynn asks from her seat beside her.

“Oh, uh, Luke just tripped. All good.” Julie says.

Flynn pulls out her phone and sets one of her specially curated playlists on shuffle before settling into her seat.

“This is exactly what I needed,” she says and Julie has to agree. “I’m glad we made up.”

“Me too.”

“Hey guys!” Reggie says excitedly. “I found a football!”

“Whoa, that’s trippy,” Flynn says as they watch the ball fly through the air. “I can see the ball but I can’t see who’s throwing it.”

“That was Reggie. He was the one with the red plaid on,” Julie explains. “And he just threw to Alex, the drummer. Who’s now throwing to Luke.”

Flynn watches for a few more minutes in silence and hums along to the song playing softly beside them. “Let me know if anything interesting happens. Mama needs some shut eye.” She then promptly closes her eyes and relaxes.

Julie snorts and agrees as she watches the boys get aggressively more physical with the football. Alex uses his height advantage to steal the ball before it can be passed from Reggie to Luke, and Luke growls in retaliation before pouncing on top of Alex. The added weight brings them both down into a tangle of limbs and laughter.

“No fair!” Alex shouts as he throws the ball away toward Reggie. “You’re a sore loser!”

“Yeah, well you don’t fight fair either!” Luke says as he tries to pin Alex. Alex shifts his weight and throws him off. 

“Fight, fight!” Reggie crows from the sidelines.

Luke laughs, and in what appears to be a moment of passion, rips his shirt off and dives back toward Alex. Alex grabs him around the middle and throws him down on his back.

“You know you can’t win this fight, man,” Alex says and pokes Luke on the nose.

“Fuck you, I so can,” Luke taunts. He reaches up and starts to tickle Alex’s sides, which causes Alex to howl and flip away. “Told you.”

“That was uncalled for,” Alex says with a pout. Reggie throws the ball back for Alex to catch and he stands up. “I’ll get you back, you better be prepared.”

“Mmhmm,” Luke says as he climbs back to his feet. They’re both panting hard.

Alex also moves to throw his fanny pack to the ground and take off his shirt.“I wish I could still feel the sun,” he laments as he tilts his head back, must like Julie did earlier.

“Me too, bro.” Reggie says.

They start up another round of catch, and Julie tries to focus back on the music and ignore them. Instead, all she can focus on is that there’s so much _skin_ happening right now. And part of her thinks maybe she should feel bad about the ogling, but it’s just right there in front of her. And, if she’s honest with herself, she’s mostly just focused on the way Luke’s back muscles ripple as he throws the ball back to Alex from across the other side of the yard. Sure, Alex’s body is also clean lines and well trained muscle, but it’s just not the same.

“What’s that face for?” Flynn asks as she opens her eyes again. There’s a sly note to her voice that Julie doesn’t like. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you saw something that caught your interest.”

“They just, um,” Julie clears her suddenly very dry throat. “They’re kind of playing skins vs shirts?”

“Ugh, so jealous I can’t see that right now,” Flynn says, but she’s smirking. “And obviously the skins are winning for you, huh?”

Julie rolls her eyes and glances back toward the boys. Luke jumps up to catch an overthrown ball and, as he lands, his jeans fall a little lower on his hips.

“Maybe,” Julie says. It’s difficult to look away and back to Flynn, and she can tell she’s blushing.

“Like I said, no harm in the looking.” Flynn laughs to herself and starts singing along to the music again.

“Yeah, just looking,” Julie affirms as she turns back to the game. 

Reggie starts chasing after Alex as he plays keep away. They’re pretty evenly matched as they run in zig zags across the yard.

“You asshole,” Reggie yells. Alex laughs and cuts a corner to flip the other direction.

Julie laughs quietly to herself and turns to find Luke with his shirt in his hands as if he’s about to put it back on. They lock eyes, and it’s like all the air gets sucked out of her. There’s a heat there, simmering in his eyes and burning her skin more than the sun ever could. 

“Luke!” Reggie calls, and it’s like the trance is broken. Luke turns away to look toward Reggie and slips his shirt back on as he goes over to his friends again. Julie shuts her eyes and wills herself not to open them again.

_Just looking._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **PLEASE READ!!**  
>  ****Julie and the boys are going to have their ages hiked up a bit in this fic because there's going to be some maturer content (cursing, expanding on the darker themes, possible sexy times we'll see where it goes) coming your way, and I'd like them to all be legal adults in my universe. The fic will follow the basic plot of the show, but one of the major changes will be age. **Julie will be 18 and the boys will be 19.*****
> 
> **as always, if the characters being older and having mature themes and the possibility of a physical relationship between julie/luke is something you don't like, this isn't the fic for you. Thanks for stopping by though and I hope you find another good fic to read!**
> 
> Please feel free to share this link with others, bookmark, like, etc! I also love reading your feedback and comments!  
> Please don't repost anywhere! I put a lot of time an effort into this, so please feel free to enjoy on AO3!
> 
> This has not be beta'd. We live and post on the edge [of great] here.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays Julie walks home late from school after her voice lesson. Her path takes her directly by Carols’ school, and he meets her at the corner after he’s finished up his tutoring. When it’s a particularly slow day around the studio -- and let’s face it, a lot of days go by at a snail’s pace when you’re dead with nothing to do -- the boys tag along and walk home with them.

The fun part? Trying to make Julie break as she studiously ignores their shenanigans so her brother doesn’t think she’s insane. It’s the best.

“Hey Julie! Look what I’ve been working on,” Reggie shouts as he runs ahead of the group. He makes his way to a cluster of trees and starts to climb. “You’re going to love this!”

Luke shakes his head as he watches Reggie scale up the side of a tree and hang off one of the limbs. Reggie takes a few swings before trying to flip backwards. He’s  _ so _ close and Luke’s ready to start cheering, but then he over rotates and falls flat on his ass.

“Oh my god,” Alex laughs beside him and Luke can’t keep the laughter in either. “That was the best thing you’ve ever done!”

Julie, for her part, manages to bite back her grin. Even with a hand pressed over her lips and her attention to the ground, it’s obvious she’s trying not to burst. Reggie gets up and wanders back over with a pout.

“At least it didn’t hurt,” he grumbles.

“You were so close, dude.” Luke reaches out and squeezes his shoulder. “Little more practice and you could be the next Tatiana Gutsu.”

Julie glances over at him with a raised eyebrow, silently asking  _ who the hell is that? _

“She won gold for all around gymnast in ‘92,” he answers. 

“Her beam? Amazing.” There’s a sigh in Alex’s voice and Luke smirks.

“That’s right Alex. And how many times did you try to do her routines in the middle of our band rehearsals instead of actually practicing?”

“Shut up,” Alex says with a light shove. “You loved it.”

Luke rolls his eyes and affectionately reaches up to ruffle Alex’s hair. “Of course I did, buddy.”

“What are you looking at?” Carlos asks as they turn down the road to home.

Julie whips her head around toward her brother, eyes wide.

  
“Nothing! I was, uh, just looking at the flowers and everything.”

Carlos narrows his eyes at her and purses his lips. “Mmhmm. You still seeing ghosts?”

“What?” Julie asks, tense. Luke glances over at the boys. “That’s crazy.”

“I don’t know, I might believe you if it’s still happening. Do you think it’s Mom, or someone trying to haunt us?”

“There aren’t any ghosts, Carols. And even if there were, I’d like to think Mom moved on to Heaven.”

“Yeah, but I saw something weird this morning. And I think there might actually be ghosts in our house!” Carlos exclaims as he waves his arms around. “I was coming around the corner to the kitchen, and I guess dad just made tea and left it on the counter as he cooked his eggs, and I swear I saw the cup move from one counter to the other to be closer to him!”

“Oh shit,” Reggie says under his breath and Luke immediately turns to him.

“Reggie! What did you do?” Luke asks, pointing a finger at him. “Julie asked us to keep a low profile.”

“I know! I didn’t think anyone would see!” Reggie whines as he throws his hands up in the air. “I just didn’t want Ray’s tea to get cold and him forget about it!”

“Dude!” Alex says as he lightly smacks Reggie’s arm. “I know you’ve got this ‘I love Ray, he’s the best’ thing going on, but you’ve got to be more careful.”

“I know, I know.” Reggie places his hands out in front of him in a placating gesture. “It won’t happen again.”

“Maybe you were just seeing things. I know you stayed up late playing your video games again,” Julie says as she reaches out to pull her brother into a one-arm hug. 

Carlos huffs and pulls away from her. 

“I know I saw something, Julie. And I’m going to figure out what's going on. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Julie grins down at his earnest expression and Luke can’t help but smile at how serious he looks.

“Thank you Carols, I appreciate it. Please protect me from all the big. ugly. idiot. ghosts out there.” Julie flashes a quick, cutting smile their way. “You’ll be my hero.”

“Ugly? Girl I’m perfection,” Alex retorts with a flip of his hair. 

“Yeah, who you calling ugly?” Luke asks as he runs his hand through his hair. He can’t take himself seriously, and ends up laughing. “We’re hot as fuck.”

“I think you’re missing the part where she called us idiots,” Reggie loudly whispers.

“No, that’s mostly true,” Alex says.

They make it to the driveway and Julie walks up to the front door.

“Alright, time for homework. And no goofing off until you’re done, I’ll know.” She gives Carlos a look. “After dinner I’m going to work on some music, so let me know if you need any help before then, ok?”

“Sure,” Carlos says as he walks into the house.

Julie looks back at them and waves. Her eyes catch his and her smile seems to soften just the tiniest bit. Luke valiantly tries to ignore the tight squeeze around his heart. 

“8 o’clock, my room?” She asks.

Luke nods and bites his lip, trying to act like he isn’t going to count down the minutes. “Sure.”

“Oooo, sounds steamy!” Alex jokes.

Julie rolls her eyes and walks into the house, but she’s still got a smile on her face. Luke follows the boys back to the garage, and while he’s aware of Alex and Reggie joking around off to the side, their chatter has faded to the background. He’s too busy thinking through the songs they’re writing, and how in just a few short hours it’ll be the best part of his day.

* * *

  
  


Luke’s the first one in her room when 8:00 hits. Julie’s got her laptop open where it’s softly playing an older 5 Seconds of Summer song. She’d introduced the band to him and the boys a few weeks ago, and they’d all instantly loved it. It reminded them of the types of songs they’d like to listen to in the 90s.

He walks over and grabs his notebook from Julie’s bookshelf where he left it last night after a late night writing session, and smiles as he flips to their latest song. He runs his fingers over the lyrics. 

_ Whatever happens _

_ Even if I'm the last standing _

_ I’ma stand tall _

“Oh, hey,” Julie says as she walks into her room. Her hair’s damp and she’s got an oversized tye-dye shirt on and athletic shorts. Her skin is still slightly damp from her shower and she looks soft and beautiful _. _

“Hi,” Luke says and he can’t quite remember how words work. “Um, sorry for, uh, being in here without you. I know you hate that.”

Julie shrugs and hangs her towel up on the back of her door.

“It’s cool, I figured we’d both get here about the same time.” She turns back to him and makes her way toward her bed and laptop. “You didn’t touch the box did you?”

She’s joking, but Luke shakes his head quickly anyway. “Nope, I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Good.” Julie reaches over and pauses the music as she settles more comfortably on the bed. Luke takes his usual spot at the end of it and accepts the pencil that Julie tosses his way. She’s got her own journal open on her lap, the lyrics to last night’s song scribbled in the pages.

“I’ve been thinking about these lyrics all day,” Luke says as he reads over them again. “And the melody we came up with. What do you think about this for the next verse?”

He glances up from his paper to catch Julie’s reaction and she nods in encouragement, waiting for him to begin. Her hair has fallen over the pillows propped up behind her back and Luke really just wants to cuddle up beside her. He wishes he could reach out and touch her, see if her skin’s as soft as it looks.

He pushes those thoughts aside -- for now, forever -- and begins to sing the words that have been strumming through his mind all day. It’s a reflection of how he’s been feeling, that contentedness that’s fallen over him with the routine of writing with her most nights.

_ Right now, I’m loving every minute. _

_ Hands down, can’t let myself forget it, no. _

He trails off and Julie quirks her head to the side and chews on the side of her cheek as she thinks. “Ok, I like that. What about following it up with something like, ‘ _ cause our lives are going way too fast. _ ” She pauses and Luke can practically see the wheels turning in her head. “Wait, no that doesn’t sound just right.” Julie scribbles a few ideas down in her notes and Luke waits for her creative magic to come to the surface. 

“Ok,” She says after a few minutes. “Putting it all together, what do you think about this?” And then she sings and Luke is nearly struck speechless like he is every time he hears her voice.

_ Whatever happens _

_ Even if I'm the last standing _

_ I'ma stand tall _

_ I'ma stand tall _

_ Right now I'm loving every minute _

_ Hands down, can't let myself forget it, no _

_ Cause everything is rushing in fast _

_ Keep holding on nevеr look back _

She trails off and Luke watches her instantly pull into herself, as if waiting for rejection. He reaches out instinctively and his hand goes right through her knee. They both stare it for a moment before he sighs and pulls his arm back.

“That was great, Julie. I think we should definitely keep it in,” he encourages with a smile. Her answering smile is blinding and his heart stutters as he looks back down.

They continue to work through the song, some lines coming easier than others. It’s always a give and take, and it’s like this energy that bounces back and forth between them and urges them to write more and more. Luke revels in it, the easy comradery that they’ve developed, and how easy it is to open up and write something so close to his heart with her. Sure, Alex and Reggie are great to bounce ideas off of, and they often have great suggestions, but they aren’t typically as ingrained in the writing process as he is. It’s just so nice to have someone who gets it, who can commiserate when the words don’t flow just right, and who can celebrate that final ending of a phrase.

At some point, they end up adjusting their positions and Luke lays down on the bed beside her. They both turn to face one another on their sides, heads propped up on their hands, and notebooks between them. 

“What if we give Alex and Reggie their moments to shine too? They could each take a “stand tall” refrain?” Julie suggests.”

“Definitely, we can’t hog the spotlight all the time.” Luke grins when Julie laughs and rolls onto her back.

Her shirt slips down her shoulder and his eyes follow the smooth curve of her skin from jaw to fabric line. He takes a deep breath and pulls his eyes back to her face. She’s shaking her head as her laughter dies down, eyes trained on the ceiling. When she turns to look back at him, she’s glowing.

“You’re beautiful,” he says. 

It’s completely involuntary and he immediately wishes he could take it back. He can’t ruin this. Julie doesn’t say anything, and the silence is deafening. His face feels like it’s on fire, especially as her eyes track his reaction. Then she takes a deep breath and gives him a soft, shy smile and turns back onto her side toward him. This time she lets her face stay half buried in her pillow.

“Thanks,” she murmurs.

Luke nods, still scared to open his stupid mouth again, and settles further down on the bed as well. They watch each other for a while, the air thick with everything they aren’t saying between them. And Luke doesn’t think his adrenaline has been this high since the ambulance. But it’s also kind of peaceful, this not fully acknowledged moment. He lets himself take it in, and relaxes a bit -- she didn’t kick him out or yell at him, and the warmth and affection on her face as she quietly looks his way makes him feel alive again.

“I better get going so you can sleep,” Luke whispers after a while. He immediately clamps his lips shut so he doesn’t say anything else.

“Yeah, ok,” Julie whispers back. “See you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Goodnight, Julie,” Luke says and gives her one last smile before poofing away.

* * *

“So I made a new ghost friend,” Alex tells them one afternoon. It’s a beautiful day out and Luke’s been enjoying the warm patch of sunlight that’s made its way through the studio windows.

Reggie immediately jumps down from his perch on the grand piano and comes to sit next to Alex on the couch.   
  


“You met another ghost? Where? How?” His excited energy is making his knee bounce and Alex reaches out to steady him.

“His name’s Willie and he kind of just ran into me. And we got to talking and he’s been teaching me a lot about ghost things.”

“That’s so cool, Alex.” Luke sits down on the coffee table in front of his bandmates and reaches out to squeeze Alex’s knee. “So is this where you’ve been sneaking off to lately?”

Alex blushes and looks down at his feet. “Yeah, sorry. I just, it’s been kind of cool learning all these new things and I wanted to explore some stuff on my own, you know?”

“Totally get it dude,” Reggie says as he knocks into his side.

“So tell us about this Willie guy.” Luke pulls his feet up onto the table and puts his chin on his knees to settle in.

“Well,” Alex says as he scratches behind his ear. He finally looks back up at them. “He’s this really cool skater guy, and he knows all of these really neat tricks to play on lifers -- that’s what he calls people who are alive -- and he’s just a lot of fun to be around.”

Luke glances at Reggie as Alex talks, and finds him already looking back with a smirk.

“What else?” Reggie eggs on.

“He’s got really long hair, which is kind of rock and roll and badass, but it’s also really nice. And he’s always laughing and having fun -- it’s all harmless pranks -- and-”

“Alex has a crush! Alex has a crush!” Reggie sings as he jumps up from the couch and runs around the open space.

Luke laughs and joins in as Alex starts to wave his hands around and tell them to stop. He’s bright red, and Luke jumps up on the table to point at him.

“You’ve got it bad, man!” Luke says.

Alex gets a goofy smile on his face and Reggie gags in the background. “Yeah, I guess I do. But no more than you do with Julie!”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have a thing for Julie,” Luke says, automatically reaching for the lie.

“Yeah. Sure you don’t buddy,” Reggie says as he comes back over to them. “And the grass is blue.”

“Don’t lie, we see the way you two look at each other. We’re ghosts, not blind. And anyway, I think it’s great.”

“Yeah well,” Luke trails off and jumps down from the table. He sits down next to Alex and grabs his hand. “Alex, I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah?” Alex asks, voice a little shaky.

“Of course, this is great. I’m glad you found someone. We’ll have to meet him to make sure he passes bro code inspection though.”

Alex squeezes Luke’s hand and gives him a private smile. “Thanks. I’m glad it’s not weird.”

Luke rests his forehead against Alex’s shoulder for a second and then pulls back and wraps an arm around him.

“Alex, you and me, we’ll always be good. And yeah, we dated for a bit but that doesn’t mean things have to be awkward. I’ll always be happy for your success.”

“Good. You’ll always be the boy who made me realize I was 100% into dudes.”

“I’ll wear that trophy proudly. And you were the one to show me that I also like guys. You probably helped Reggie too,” he loudly whispers and glances at Reggie who is smiling down at the both of them.

“It was a combination of both of you, really. And Mark Hoppus from Blink-182,” Reggie says with a shrug.

Alex laughs and reaches out to pull Reggie into their hug. “Love you guys.”

“Love you too, bro.” Luke says as he smacks a kiss to Alex’s temple.

* * *

Luke strums his guitar and counts the beat in his head as they come to the end of their newest song. There’s still a few missing lines throughout  _ Finally Free _ , but it’s at a good point to start adding some of the instruments in. He’s hoping that with the added music, the last little bits of wording will come naturally.

Luke glances over and watches the notes Reggie’s playing, mentally cataloguing them to write down later so they won’t forget. And then he looks over at Julie. “One more time.” She nods and they repeat the sequence once more before they let their instruments fade out.

Alex materializes through the studio door with a goofy smile on his face.

“Hey,” Julie calls as she reaches for her notes to scribble down her latest chords.

“Dude, where have you been? It’s rehearsal time,” Luke says. He reaches over to also scribble some notes down before turning back to him. 

“Sorry, I got caught up.” Alex blushes and shuffles his feet. “If you’re up for it I can play now?”

“You were with Willie weren’t you?” Reggie teases as he sets his bass down on its stand. 

“Who’s Willie?” Julie asks.

“His new ghost boyfriend!” Reggie sings as he backs away from Alex’s reach.

“Wait, you can see other ghosts?”

“Yeah, I’ve only met the one though.” Alex says, his face pink. “And he’s not my boyfriend.”

“You want him to be though,” Luke reminds him as he plops down in a chair. He fiddles with the strings of his guitar and leans back. “And yeah, we could probably go a few more rounds if you want to jump on the drums for a bit.”

Right as Alex starts to step forward, Flynn flings open one of the doors and bounces in. “What’s up girl!” She says as she enters. “You ready for tonight?”

Julie jumps up from her seat and pulls Flynn into a hug. “So ready!”

“What’s happening tonight?” Luke asks.

Julie turns back toward the boys with her arm still tossed over Flynn’s shoulders. “We got tickets to see 5 Seconds of Summer almost a year ago and it’s finally the day we get to go!”

“What? That’s awesome!” Alex says as he fiddles with his drum sticks. “They’re sick.”

Luke nods in agreement. “Totally.”   
  


“Can we come?” Reggie asks, clasping his hands in front of him. “We won’t be any trouble, I promise.”

“Are the boys here?” Flynn asks, reaching up to push a few braids behind her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Julie answers her. “Reggie wants to know if they can come tonight.”

Flynn smiles and talks to an empty spot in the room. “Don’t see why not, not like you have to pay for tickets.”

“Wrong way, sweetie,” Julie says as she nods in their general direction. “But I agree, I guess you guys can tag along.” She lets out a long suffering sigh, but smiles in jest.

“Hey, did you hear about the other amazing news?” Flynn asks. She pulls away from Julie and moves over to the piano to glance down at their latest songs. “Nick is going to be there too! I was talking with him in Science today, and he said he’s also got tickets. He’s a few sections down, but if it’s not too crowded where we are he said he’d be happy to join us!” Flynn claps her hands and turns excitedly toward Julie.

“Oh, uh, that’s great!” Julie says, but her face doesn’t show the enthusiasm of her voice.

Luke watches as her body shifts awkwardly from side to side, her lips twisting into a weird approximation of a smile. Unexpectedly, she darts a glance his way and he raises an eyebrow.

“Who’s Nick?” Reggie asks.

_ Yeah. Who’s Nick? _

“Just a friend from school,” Julie says, and now she’s looking anywhere but at him. What's going on?

“Just a friend? Girl, you’ve had a crush on him for  _ years. _ And tonight might be a great chance to get closer to him!” 

_ Oh _ .

Flynn continues to grin and reaches out for Julie’s arm and squeezes it. “And word on the street says he and Carrie broke up. I wasn’t able to confirm it today, but he may be single and ready to mingle.” She wiggles her eyebrows and winks. “Either way, he’s going to be there tonight and I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

Julie blushes and puts a hand up to her face to try to cover her reaction. Luke looks down at his guitar and begins lightly plucking the strings.

“I wouldn’t do that to Carrie,” Julie says as he drops her hand. “Plus, we may not even see him.”

“Oh we’ll definitely see him. Now let’s go figure out what you’re going to wear!” Flynn says as she starts toward the door.

“Wait, we were going to practice a little more first.” Luke glances up from his strings as Julie sits back down at her piano. “If you guys still want to?” She looks at each of them in turn, and meets his eyes last.

“Oh, I’d love to hear it,” Flynn says as she turns back to the room.

Luke glances over at the boys and they all nod and settle into their instruments again. He hasn’t moved and looks back at Julie. She’s still looking at him, expectant and a little hesitant. He pushes back the swirl of emotions that have taken over, the knowledge that Julie has feelings for someone else -- someone alive who will always be better than him -- and stands back up. He knows what the missing piece of their song should be now.

“Sure, we can do it again. Alex, listen to Reggie and me for the intro and just play what you think will fit. We’ll clean it up later.” Alex nods and adjusts his grip on his sticks. “And Julie, I think I’ve got an idea for that pre-chorus.”

“Ok,” she says, voice soft. Luke nods at her to start and her fingers press down on her keys.

To Flynn’s credit, she only jumps a little bit when they all come in for the first chorus. The music fills the small studio and the heaviness Luke felt moments ago lifts as he listens to Julie’s voice fly higher and higher with the melody. He steps forward, closer to the piano, as they sing.

Another verse and it’s time for the missing pre-chorus. Luke’s standing directly in front of her now, and he can feel Alex and Reggie’s eyes on his back.

_ We know we can make it _

_ We're not falling down under _

_ Close my eyes and feel my chest _

_ Beating like thunder _

And she joins back in, her face scrunching into a cute smile and her face tilted back up toward him.

_ And I want to fly. _

_ Come alive. Watch me shine. _   
  


Luke backs away slowly and turns to his boys as they finish the rest of the song. Alex smirks up at him and shakes his head. Luke contents himself with watching Alex’s improv on the drums as he feels out the song. It’s easier to do this than to let himself get sucked back into Julie’s orbit right now.

“That was so good!” Flynn cheers as they finish. He can tell the moment she can’t see them anymore because she blinks quickly and her eyebrows narrow. “That’s still so weird that they just kind of...disappear.”

Luke scribbles down the lyrics he just came up with into his notebook and turns to the group. “What time’s the concert?” he asks.

“We’re leaving at 5, but you guys can just show up around 7 if you want. We’re in section E, top level.” She grabs her music and turns toward Flynn. “Ready? I was thinking we’d get food there so we don’t have to worry about cooking dinner before we go.”

“Yes! We have to get you dressed for this not-date.” Flynn says with a flourish of her hands.

“It’s not a date!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Flynn says. “Come on.”

The girls shut the door behind him and Luke puts his guitar back on its stand. He looks down at his ripped up, sleeveless top and plucks at the material.

“This is going to be so cool! I’m so excited for tonight,” Reggie says as he walks toward their old chest of clothes. “You think we should change too?”

“It’s not like anyone can see us,” Luke mumbles. He watches Reggie rifle through their clothes.

“Julie can, and that’s all that really matters,” Alex says as he comes to stand beside him. He throws his arm around Luke and pulls him in. “We’ve got to make sure this Nick guy doesn’t stand a chance.” 

“Makeover time!” Reggie crows with a laugh as he pulls out a few different shirts.

“Ugh, you guys are the worst,” Luke says, but he can feel himself smiling. “Julie can see who she likes. We’re dead, remember? It’s not like anything can happen.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t still look hot,” Alex says as he ruffles his hair. “You look sexy with your hair pushed back.”

“Will you  _ stop  _ quoting that movie,” Luke groans as he pushes him away.

“Yeah, Alex. Stop trying to make fetch happen, it’s never going to happen.”

“You guys are the  _ worst _ !” Luke says as he throws his hands up. “Why did she show you that movie?”   
  


“Because she’s an angel,” Alex answers. He reaches down and picks up his black rock and roll shirt. “You should wear this with your ripped black jeans and no beanie.”

“This is basically what I’m wearing right now,” Luke says as he points to his white Rush shirt.

“No, I agree, the black shirt works better with the kind of punk vibe 5SOS gives off, and the cut’s a little different.”

“Trust me bro,” Alex says as he thrusts it toward him. 

Luke shakes his head as he clutches the fabric toward his chest. “You guys are ridiculous.”

* * *

The venue is roaring with life when the boys arrive. There’s people everywhere and it takes no time for some of the patrons to start passing right through them.

“This will never not be weird,” Alex says as they walk through the crowds toward the sign for section E. 

They make their way through the hallway and up the stairs. There’s something techno-themed blaring over the speakers, and Luke takes in a crowd of teenagers, kids, and parents. Most of the seats are full and it takes a moment for them to find Julie and Flynn a few rows up. 

“There,” Luke points and heads their way. The boys follow close on his heels as they take in the venue.

“Hey guys,” Julie says as they walk up. “Glad you could make it.”

“Hey boys,” Flynn says before turning back to the stage. “The opener should start soon. It’s The Band CAMINO, and they’re really good too.”

“Oh yeah, you guys will love them,” Julie assures as she nods toward the stage.

Luke settles in beside Julie and the boys squeeze in beside him. There’s a few extra seats to their right, and it’s close enough to show time that he hopes they won’t be filled. Julie’s wearing a bright pink crop top and black jeans, haired pulled back away from her face with pink and black pins. Her makeup is a little more dramatic than normal, no doubt thanks to Flynn, and her typical necklaces rest unobstructed against her chest.

“You look nice,” Luke says, voice cutting low under the hum of people around them. Hopefully Alex and Reggie can’t hear him.

She looks up at him and smiles. “Thanks, I like your shirt. Very rockstar.” she says. 

Luke smiles back and knows if Alex hears that he’ll be insufferable. Julie looks down at her phone as it vibrates in her hand. On the screen, Nick’s name flashes. She glances up at Luke as she opens it and tilts the phone away from him.

“Nick says he’ll catch up with us after the opener,” she says to Flynn. “I’m going to tell him to meet us for food.”

“Sounds good,” Luke notices sparkles surrounding the edges of Flynn’s eyes and what looks like a brand new merch shirt in her hands.

“Hey, tell Flynn she looks cool with the glitter,” he says as Julie puts her phone back into her pocket.

“Luke says cool glitter,” Julie translates with a nudge to Flynn’s arm.

“Yeah it looks awesome,” Reggie compliments.

“As do the rest of the guys.”

“Aw, thanks!” Flynn bats her eyelashes and dramatically sighs. “I do look cute.”

They all snicker as the lights start to dim. The crowd erupts and the opening chords of the first act tear through the room. Luke let’s the feeling of the music and the overwhelming sense of love and community rush through him. There’s nothing like a good concert.

The band is great. Luke wants to get Julie to share more of their music with them when they get home. The two lead singers’ voices blend together well and they put a lot of energy into the show. Alex and Reggie jump around with him during  _ Daphne Blue _ , shouting the catchy chorus at the top of their lungs. A few songs later, Julie and Flynn embrace each other and scream lyrics into each other’s faces.

_ Call it a rivalry, call it a fight _

_ Call it what you want _

_ But I need you tonight _

Luke notices tears in both of their eyes when they pull away. Flynn reaches up to swipe a loose tear away from Julie’s cheek before they both turn back and finish out the song at the top of their lungs.

Then there’s a song that makes Luke pause and really listen. He stops bouncing around, feet firmly planted on the floor, and takes it in.

_ I'm living with the ghost of you _

_ You still visit me in bed _

_ Got visions in my head _

_ It's like I'm having déjà-vu _

His body sways with the slower beat, heart pounding in time with the drums. By the second chorus, he sings along and can’t help but look toward Julie again. As if she can feel his eyes on her, she looks back. Caught in each other’s gaze, he sings the chorus to her.

_ She's all that I wanted _

_ She's all I really need _

_ And now this house is haunted _

_ And she's just make-believe _

Julie picks up the rest.

_ You're still here even though you're gone _

_ You disappear when the lights come on _

_ You're still the one that I dream about _

The rest of the song washes over them, but he can’t look away. She can’t seem to break away either. Just suspended, watching each other, back to square one like always. He yearns to reach out for her, to hold her hand, to let her know that there’s something happening here. But how can he? He’s dead and she’s alive, and it would never work. 

She opens her lips to say something, and he leans forward to make sure he catches to her words.

“I think this is their final number!” Flynn tugs on Julie’s arm a little, excitedly pointing toward the stage. Oblivious.

And it’s like the overwhelming magnetism of the moment shatters between them. Julie finally looks away, back toward the stage, and when she glances back there’s space to breathe again.

“These guys are awesome,” Alex says beside him, and Luke tries to bring himself back into the moment.

“So good!” Reggie agrees. He nods his head to the music and grins at both of them. “I’m so glad we did this.”

The last song fades out as the house lights come back up. Flynn turns toward Julie and asks about food, and the girls prepare to walk down to the concessions.

“The boys coming?” Flynn asks.

“I think I’ll stay,” Reggie says. “I’ll do some ghost voodoo if someone tries to take these seats.”

“And I’ll watch him to make sure he doesn’t actually do anything stupid.” Alex gestures to Reggie with an exasperated look on his face.

“I’ll come,” Luke says as he leads the way out of their aisle.

“Luke will,” Julie tells Flynn.

He follows Julie and Flynn down the stairs and through the crowd to the closest concessions stand. Julie fidgest as she looks at the menu, like she’s nervous.

“Hey Julie, hey Flynn. Fancy seeing you here,” a guy with shaggy blonde hair says as he approaches. He has a kind smile and clear blue eyes. 

Luke immediately dislikes him, but he tries to tamper down his emotions. Julie and Flynn hug him as he gets in line behind them.

“Hey Nick,” Julie greets. They’re closer to the front of the line now, the crowd steadily thinning out toward the counter. “What are you going to get?”

“I don’t know, maybe nachos.” 

“Solid choice,” Flynn says as she taps her chin.

“What did you guys think of the first band? I loved their opening song.”

“Their voices were amazing,” Julie answers.

A group of rowdy guys try to walk through their spot in line to get to the other side and end up knocking into Julie. She stumbles a little and Luke immediately reaches out, but it’s Nick who grabs her and pulls her away. 

“Ugh, assholes,” Flynn mutters, brushing off their touch from her sleeve.

“You ok?” Nick asks. He’s still holding onto Julie’s arm and Luke stares at the point of contact. His own fingers twitch at his sides.

“Yeah, no big deal. They’re just rude,” Julie says, shrugging off the interaction. Nick drops his hand and she smiles up at him.

Luke huffs and glares at the retreating group of guys, still rudely running into people further down.

“Good, as long as you’re ok,” Nick says, and there’s a bit of color to his cheeks now.

It’s like something else is controlling his body because Luke can’t stop himself. Even as he says it, his brain is telling him to stop.

“Uh oh, I think someone has a crush on Julie.” It comes out mocking and terrible and, god, why is he saying this.

Julie glances over at him and plasters a fake smile on her lips. “Shut up.”

Nick’s frowns in confusion and out of the corner of his eye he can see Flynn arch an eyebrow at her friend, glancing to the side like she’s trying to catch a glimpse of him.

“Huh?” Nick says. Ineloquently.

“Uh, shut up,” Julie says again and reaches out to tap his shoulder. Luke’s body twists like she’s hit him instead. He wishes she’d hit him instead. This is so embarrassing.

Nick looks at her for a moment, a little skeptical, but then smiles and shrugs. “I’m glad I ran into you guys. I was supposed to come with Carrie, but since we broke up a few weeks ago she didn’t want to come. Claimed she doesn’t like 5SOS anyway.”

“Blasphemy,” Flynn says. She steps forward to take her order and it’s just Julie and Nick now. And Luke! Luke is still here, damn it. Once Flynn orders she turns around and continues the conversation. 

“So, you and Carrie broke up?” She very unsubtly winks at Julie, who gives an eye roll in response.

“Um, yeah. I don’t know, we just weren’t working out anymore.” Nick scratches his head and looks down. “Feelings change, you know?”

“Ugh, so many feelings,” Luke says with a dramatic sigh.

Julie glares past Nick’s shoulder at him, but it’s softened by the smile that’s threatening to show. “I’m sorry, Nick. That must be hard.”

Nick tilts his head to the side and tries for his own smile. “It’s not that bad, I think tonight’s a success anyway.”

Instead of answering him, Julie turns and orders food. Her head is bowed and she’s fiddling with her credit card while she waits for the worker to ring up her food. Luke takes a moment to step away from the group and collect himself. He can practically hear Alex’s voice in his head telling him to chill the fuck out.

Julie comes to stand beside him as she waits for her food. “Boundaries,” she says under her breath, eyes focused on the people getting the orders together.

“Yeah, I know.” Luke shoves his hands into his pockets and looks down at the floor. “He does like you though.”

Julie sighs next to him and glances around before looking up at him. “He’s a nice guy, Luke.”

Luke swallows and nods. Flynn and Nick come to stand beside them, and Flynn hands Julie her food from the counter.

“Nick said he’s cool joining us up in our section if that’s cool with you.”

“Yeah, totally.” Julie says. She leads the way back to their seats, and as she turns Luke notices what’s in her hands.

“HOT DOGS?” He shouts, running to catch up with her. “You ordered hot dogs?”

“Um, yeah,” she mumbles as she sidesteps a group of teenagers.

“You do know I died from a hot dog right? You can’t eat that!”

Julie rolls her eyes at him and starts climbing the stairs toward their seats. When they get there, Alex has his arms fully wrapped around Reggie and is holding him on his lap, clearly in an effort to restrain him.

“What is going on?” Luke asks, momentarily distracted. Julie pauses at the beginning of the row, staring.

“Something wrong?” Flynn asks, eyeing the open space. 

Julie shakes her head, more in confusion than an answer probably, but Flynn takes that as her cue to enter. Nick follows her, and Julie after him. 

“Reggie wanted to test out some new ghost skills, and I figured that’d be a terrible idea right now,” Alex says by way of explanation. Reggie wiggles in his lap. “But now that Julie’s back I know he’ll behave.”

Luke snorts and shakes his head. “It’s because he’s scared of you, Julie.”

“Am not!” Reggie protests. He stands up and sits on the seat next to Alex.. “I just respect her, that’s all.”

“And you don’t respect us?” Alex asks as he readjust his clothes. 

“Look, I just wanted to make it clear that no one could sit with us. And if that means I move the armrest around or do something ghosty when people try to encroach on our territory, so be it.”

“Appreciate the dedication, Reggie,” Luke says as he settles into the seat between Alex and Julie.

“No!” Alex shouts beside him, and suddenly Luke remembers the real matter at hand. “Julie, hot dogs can kill you!”

Luke looks over to see Julie contemplating her hot dog, as if she can see if it’s poisonous or not.

“These hot dogs are great,” Nick says beside her. He nudges her arm and nods. “Try it!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Reggie says, shaking his head. “It’s a trap!”

Julie rolls her eyes and takes a bite. Luke can feel them all collectively take a breath as they watch her chew and swallow.

“Well if you die, maybe you’ll be a ghost and we can still hang together,” Luke says.

Julie shrugs and licks her lips. “Tastes fine to me.”

“That’s what they all say,” Alex mutters darly, arms crossed. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

Julie laughs and turns away from them toward Nick and Flynn. They get to talking about school and homework, and Luke tunes most of it out. He tries not to focus on how Nick and Julie’s shoulders keep brushing, how easily they can come into contact with each other, how familiar they are with one another’s lives.

“So that’s him?” Alex whispers, eyes trained on their little group.

“Mmhmm.”

“Huh,” Reggie says. “He seems nice.”

Luke glares at him but nods. He does. He’s a good guy, and Luke is valiantly trying not to hate him.

“You totally got all alpha male when he showed up didn’t you,” Alex teases.

“Shut up.”

“Oh he so did,” Reggie says with a laugh. “It’s ok, bro. I’m sure Julie will forgive you.”

Luke’s saved from the conversation by the lights dimming for the main act. He stands up with the rest of the audience as the opening hype video starts to play.

Reggie shrieks when the boys all walk on stage, and Alex jumps around. Luke shakes off the residual bad mood and tries to get back into the show.

When  _ Eighteen _ starts to play, Alex pulls Luke and Reggie into a group hug and they all jump around in a circle together, singing at the top of their lungs. It chases away the last of the negativity, and he lets himself enjoy his crazy boys.

_ She told me to meet her there _

_ I can't afford a bus fare _

_ I'm not old enough for her _

_ I'm just waiting till I'm eighteen _

Reggie tries to head bang, ends up slamming his head against Alex’s shoulder, and nearly falls forward. In a fit of laughter, Luke reaches over and pulls Reggie toward him and soothes his head. “You absolute dork.”

The energy from the crowd spurs them on, and Luke looks over toward Julie and her friends. They all seem to be having a blast, hands up and voices rough from yelling the lyrics to all of the songs. Julie’s shining from within, just as she always does when she sings so unabashedly.

During  _ Kiss Me _ , Luke watches as Nick shoots little glances Julie’s way. She’s got her head thrown back, eyes closed, and hands clutched at her chest as she sings the lyrics out. It’s one of her favorites, Luke knows. He turns away from the moment, feels like he’s intruding, and doesn’t want to see if Julie notices Nick mouthing along the lyrics as he looks her way. He doesn’t want to see that look reciprocated.

Toward the end of the set, one of Luke’s favorite songs begins and he grins into the flashing lights of the room. He watches the big screens off to the side of the stage as the band begins the opening chords and finishes one of their crowd-pleasing speeches. Luke squeezes his eyes shut and loses himself in it, feels the words deep in his bones and appreciates the artistry of the lyrics. He opens his mouth and sings along with the rest of the audience.

_ I'll take what you got, got, got _

_ I know it's not a lot, lot, lot _

_ Cause I just need another hit _

_ You're the thing that I can't quit _

About half way through the song, Luke opens his eyes to find Julie already looking back. There’s a softness to her gaze that makes his heart ache. He feels that magnetism again, and doesn’t fight it as he inches toward her, ending up right behind her. She turns her head to the side so he can see some of her face. Her eyes are shut and she’s breathing slow, like she’s also imagining she can feel him close to her. If he could, he’d press his lips to her temple and wrap his arms tight around her.

Instead, he lowers his voice so he can softly sing into her ear.

_ I want to breathe you in like your vapor _

_ I want to be the one you remember _

_ I want to feel your love like the weather _

_ All over me, all over me _

Julie, for once, stays quiet as he finishes the rest of the song, just listening. When it finishes, he doesn’t feel like moving, and she also doesn’t pull away from him. They spend the rest of the concert close enough to touch but never managing it.

After the last encore of the night, the boys follow Julie and her friends out of the Venue.

“Ahhh that was so good!” Reggie says as he jumps down the steps and out onto the sidewalk. “So good!”

They’re all feeling the post-concert high, their eyes bright with it.

“I loved that,” Nick says, a bounce to his step. “I’m so glad I got to come sit with you guys.”

“Us too,” Flynn says. “Right, Julie?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” She gives Nick a smile and then checks her phone for messages “That was a night for the books. My dad said he’ll be on his way soon. He’s giving time for some of the traffic to clear out.”

Nick shuffles his feet and plays with the key ring on his belt loop. “I can give you both a ride if you’d like.”

“I’m staying with Julie, so it’s just her house if that’d be ok.” Flynn says.

“Sure, that ok Julie?”

“Yeah, that should be fine. Let me text my dad real fast.” 

They head toward one of the parking lots and Nick opens the door for both of the girls when they get to the car.

“Such a gentleman,” Flynn jokes as she climbs in.

“I try,” Nick says with a laugh. He walks to the drivers side and gets in. 

Julie looks out the window toward the boys and waves.

“Bye Julie, see you tomorrow,” Reggie calls before he shimmers out of view. 

Alex waves and follows, and Luke pauses. He bites his lip and kicks at the dirt beneath his shoes as Nick starts the car.

“Can I come see you later?” he asks, voice just loud enough to carry through the window.

Julie glances toward the back seat where Flynn is buckling in. She then looks back at him and nods, mouthing “later.” Luke smiles, relieved that things don’t seem weird now that the adrenaline of the concert is starting to wane, and lets the dizzying sensation of traveling take over his body.

* * *

It’s late when Julie and Flynn get back, and even later when Luke enters the house and goes up to Julie’s room. He pauses outside of her door and listens to see if they’re still awake. When he pokes his head in, it’s dark.

“Julie?” he whispers into the silence of the room.

The covers shift a bit and Julie climbs out of the bed. She grabs a hoodie from the floor and pulls it over her head as she walks toward him and opens the bedroom door.

“Hi,” she whispers back.

He grins, can’t help the goofy smile on his face, and she fondly shakes her head at him as she walks down the hall. She leads him out to the backyard where they each curl up on a lawn chair.

“This was a fun night,” he says to break the quiet between them.

“Mmhmm.” She’s tired, he can tell. Her eyes droop a little and she yawns. “What was your favorite part?”

Luke shrugs and looks up at the stars. He thinks he can make out Orion’s belt.

“I liked it all, really. Glad to see you didn’t die from your hot dog.”

She laughs quietly and says, “shut up.” Then she flips onto her back to look at the stars as well. “That was quite a display you put on when Nick first showed up.”

“Ugh, I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” Luke turns his head toward her so he can see her more clearly.

Julie turns her head to look at him too, and smirks. “You were jealous.”

Luke thinks about denying it, but there’s no use. Especially not late at night, under a blanket of stars with the girl he likes beside him. “I was. But can you blame me?”

She takes a moment to collect her thoughts. “He’s been a friend of mine for a long time, and yeah. Maybe I liked him at one point, but things are different now.” She looks him dead in the eye as she says it. “I’m not who I used to be, before my mom--. Things have changed.”

Luke let’s the silence fall between them for a few minutes. It’s not the type of silence that needs to be filled -- it’s comfortable, and he knows she’s thinking about her mom, just like he’s thinking about his own family.

“He can touch you,” he whispers. If he can say it soft enough, maybe she won’t hear. He just needs to get the thought that’s been playing through his mind all night out in the open.

Now it’s her turn to be quiet, but she’s staring at him with such an intense look on her face that he doesn’t know what to think.

“That is true.” She says, finally.

Luke tries to swallow around the lump in his throat.

“He’s just a friend,” she says after a moment. There’s no wavering in her voice when she says it.

And they’re back to watching each other, the air thick with some emotion neither of them want to touch. He reaches out and slowly traces his finger down the length of her arm. He doesn’t feel anything, even as he sees where his skin should be touching hers. He flicks his gaze up from her arm to her face.

“Luke,” she says, voice open and vulnerable. Her eyes are searching for something he doesn’t know how to give her right now.

“This is an interesting little relationship you and I have.”

She gives him a bittersweet smile and nods her agreement. They sit like that for a while, together but lost in their own thoughts. Both wanting, but unable to fully cross the chasm between them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!  
> ****Julie and the boys are going to have their ages hiked up a bit in this fic because there's going to be some maturer content (cursing, expanding on the darker themes, possible sexy times we'll see where it goes) coming your way, and I'd like them to all be legal adults in my universe. The fic will follow the basic plot of the show, but one of the major changes will be age. **Julie will be 18 and the boys will be 19.*****
> 
> as always, if the characters being older and having mature themes and the possibility of a physical relationship between julie/luke is something you don't like, this isn't the fic for you. Thanks for stopping by though and I hope you find another good fic to read!
> 
> Please feel free to share this link with others, bookmark, like, etc! I also love reading your feedback and comments!  
> Please don't repost anywhere! I put a lot of time an effort into this, so please feel free to enjoy on AO3!
> 
> This has not be beta'd. We live and post on the edge [of great] here.

Julie hums to herself as she sorts through the notebooks in her locker. She’s in a great mood -- even after the pop quiz in calculus she just totally bombed. Last night she and the boys had a Marvel movie marathon. Watching them react to the on-screen adaptations to some of their favorite comics had been a blast, but the popcorn fight in between the third and fourth movie had to have been the highlight. She can’t quite remember how it started, but suddenly there was popcorn everywhere and the boys were jumping between the furniture as they tried to nail each other. Julie hasn’t laughed that hard in a while. Reggie upended one of the bowls entirely over Luke’s head. The kernels went straight through him, but the ensuing cries for revenge were very real.

Julie laughs to herself just thinking about it.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” comes a voice behind her.

She jumps and spins around, nearly dropping her notebook. “Normal people don’t do that, and ghosts definitely shouldn’t. What are you doing here?”

Luke leans against the locker beside hers and gives his best “get out jail free card” smile. Julie steadfastly ignores the way her heart jumps in her chest.

“Just wanted to say hi. And maybe walk you to your next class?”

The warmth that blooms inside of her is inexplicable. It crawls its way from her core and outward to the tips of her fingers and toes. Ever since the night of the concert things have changed. Subtly, but they have. She and Luke have always gravitated toward each other and spent a lot of time talking and hanging out, but the added weight of this thing between them that they both acknowledge and don’t talk about, is new.

“Sure,” Julie says as she shuts her locker. 

She pulls out her phone and Luke immediately protests her lack of attention. “You’re just going to take a phone call while we’re talking? You know how rude that is?”

“Hey thanks for calling. Otherwise people might think I’m talking to myself,” she cuts in with a biting smile. A girl from her history class wave as she passes and Julie nods back.

“Right. Nice.”

“So, class?” Julie prompts, eyeing the clock on the hallway wall.

Luke fist pumps and steps away from the lockers. He follows her down the hall and keeps up a running commentary as they pass other students.

“Wow the fashion sure has changed,” he says as a girl in bright pink leopard print pants walks past them. “And definitely not for the better.”

“Oh, like fashion was great in the 90s,” Julie says.

“Excuse me, rock band tees and ripped jeans are the pinnacle of fashion.”

Julie shoots him a look and shakes her head. “So you’re saying I wouldn’t look cute in those pants?”

He scratches the back of his head, caught. “I, uh, I think you’d look great in anything.”

“Nice save, buddy.” The hallway begins to thin out as they turn the corner to her class. “Sorry the walk was so short.”

Luke shrugs and gives her a soft smile. “It’s fine. I’ll see you later for another movie night?”

“Yeah. Carlos and my dad are going to have a ‘dude’s night’ so we should be free to do whatever.”

“Awesome.” He bites his lips and looks down. “Have a good class then.”

Julie reaches up and plays with the ends of her hair for something to do with her hands. “Thanks.”

He shimmers out of view as the bell rings and Julie can’t stop the goofy smile on her face as she sits down.

“What are you so happy about?” Flynn asks as she pulls out her notebooks

“God, can’t a girl just smile around here without getting the first degree?” Julie jokes.

“Ok then.” Flynn eyes her for a second and then gasps. “You’ve got that ‘I just saw my crush’ face!”

“Hush,” Julie whisper-shouts as the class starts to quiet down. “I do not not.”

“You so do. So, since I know NIck is in gym on the other side of the school right now, who’s got you smiling like that?”

Julie shrugs and pushes her hair behind her ear as she gets her books out of her bag. She doesn’t want to talk about it, doesn’t want to admit what’s going on between her and Luke out loud. It’s private and new, and it feels like she’s crawling out of her skin every time he so much as looks at her. She never wants it to stop.

Flynn huffs and directs her attention to the front of the class as the teacher takes roll. The peace and quiet lasts all of three minutes.

“Was it Luke?” Flynn hisses under her breath. Julie glances over and doesn’t like the look on her face. It’s like she’s being accused of something bad.

“You said it yourself, it was fine to look!” Julie whispers back.

“Yeah, but I also specifically said not to start liking any of them because...you know. They're _dead._ ”

“Shhh,” Julie says as she glances around. No one seems to be looking their way. “Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s true.”

“Yeah, well. It’s just some harmless flirting. It’s fine.” Even she can hear the lie in her voice.

“Listen, I love you. And that’s the only reason I’m being a downer about this. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, ok?”

Julie nods and looks down at her paper. She picks up a pen and starts to twirl it between her fingers, trying to mimic the effortless way that Alex does it with his drum sticks when he’s working through a problem in his head.

That bubble of elation that she’d had moments ago starts to deflate, little by little.

_What are you really doing here, Julie?_

* * *

Julie throws herself down on her bed as soon as she gets back from school. The boys hadn’t joined her on her walk home and her mind’s been stuck on repeat all day thinking about Flynn’s harsh reminder.

So what if Luke’s cute and sweet and does everything with his full heart? He’s not real. Not truly.

There’s a knock at her door and she glances up to see an arm poking through the wood as a fist raps lightly on the surface. As much as she really doesn’t want to see any of her ghost boys right now, she can’t turn them away either. That will just make them more insistent to talk to her.

“You can come in Alex,” she calls as she turns to face the ceiling again.

“Hey,” he says, and Julie can hear the drag of his shoes on the carpet as he comes closer. “I was wondering what mov--. Hey what’s wrong?”  
  


Julie takes a deep breath, letting the air fill every empty space in her chest before she lets it out.

“Nothing, just thinking.”

“Yeah, not buying it,” he says, nonplussed as he sprawls out next to her. When she turns to look at him, his black baseball cap is pushed awkwardly off his head by the mattress.

“I don’t know if I can talk about this with you,” she answers honestly.

Alex assesses her for a moment, mouth twisting into a frown like he’s trying to figure something out. He licks his lips before speaking again.

“What did Luke do now?”

“What? Nothing!” It’s an automatic response. She shakes her head and looks away. “He didn’t do anything wrong. And why would you assume it’s about him.”

“Um, probably has something to do with the fact that you are both absolutely smitten with each other. It’s kind of disgusting really, and that’s coming from someone who used to date him.”

“You dated Luke?” Julie asks, a little shocked.

Alex laughs and his eyes go a little distant as he hums. “Yeah, for a few months when we first got the band together. Don’t get me wrong, it was great and we both helped each other figure some stuff out, but we’re much better off as friends.”

Julie lets that information sit for a beat. She and Luke haven’t really talked about their pasts much. Especially their exes. Because that's what people who are dating do, and they’re not dating. Technically. Life -- and death so it would seem -- is complicated.

“So what did he do?” Alex prompts again.

Julie sighs and sits up to face him. “He didn’t do anything. And that’s kind of the problem I guess. The night of the concert, we sort of established that there’s something between us--”

“Duh,” Alex cuts in. She narrows his eyes at him and he mimes zipping his lips closed.

“And he’s been sweet and everything since, but I just...how would this ever work, Alex?”

Alex sits up and adjusts his hat to fit properly back onto his head as he goes. “You guys are in a bit of a weird space.”

“You think?”

He rolls his eyes and says, “All I know is that he really likes you, Julie. And I know I should be giving you the shovel talk because he’s my family in all but blood, but I also want to see both of you happy. This is super unconventional, but I think it could also be worth it. You’re good for him, and I think he -- and all three of us really -- can be good for you too.”

Julie looks down and picks at a loose thread in her bedding. “I think it might be worth it too,” Julie whispers.

Alex shifts like he wants to hug her and then remembers himself.

“There’s definitely going to be some challenges,” he says with a laugh.

Julie shakes her head, but can’t help feeling a little better. His positivity is infectious.

“Thank Alex.” In an effort to take the spotlight away from her own troubles, she asks, “How is Willie?”

It does the trick. He flops back down on the bed and gives a dreamy, “Perfect.”

Julie laughs and folds her legs up under her. She motions for him to keep going and he launches straight into a story about going to a museum and yelling. It’s sweet.

* * *

“Hey guys?” Julie calls as she walks down the stairs. “You ready for movie night?”

She walks into an empty living room and glances around. Then she peeks into the kitchen and there’s still nothing. With a sigh, she slides on her slippers and walks out to the studio.

“Guys? Aren’t we doing movie night again?” she asks as she pulls the door open. And then she’s struck still and silent.

The rehearsal space has been cleared away and the coffee table that normally rests in front of the couch has been pulled to the center of the room. On top is an old sheet, speckled from years of art projects, with place settings for two. Pillows have been scattered around the table as makeshift seats. The grand piano has a few lit candles placed atop its cover, and some of the lamps have their own drapings, so the entire room is awash in a soft golden glow.

“Um,” Julie says as she finds her voice. “Guys?”

Reggie appears out of nowhere by her side, and Julie valiantly tries not to jump as he clears his throat and says, “Good evening madmuazele, welcome to Chateau Sunset. Would you like me to show you to your table.”

Julie can’t help the mildly hysterical laugh that flies out as she nods. Reggie’s got on all black, from his black jeans to shirt to leather jacket. He gives her a dramatic bow as he ushers her to the table and fluffs up some pillows before she takes her seat.

“What is going on?” she asks, still trying to take everything in.

“It’s friday night and isn’t that still considered a date night?” Luke’s voice comes from behind her. She looks back over her shoulder as he makes his way across the room. He’s holding a freshly picked gardenia blossom from the garden.

“I, yeah, it is,” she sputters as Luke places the flower next to her dinner plate. He’s blushing a little and looks bashful as he takes his own seat across from her.

“Well I figured I’d surprise you with our first date.”

Julie can feel her own cheeks warm and she looks down, fidgeting with her fingers. “This is nice.”

Luke clears his throat and she glances up to see him awkwardly shift around on his own set of pillows. “I’m glad you liked it. And that the boys could keep it a secret.”

“I resent that,” Reggie says, and Julie’s almost forgotten he was there. “Chef Alex will be preparing you a wonderful menu of hot pockets and easy mac.”

“Yum?”

“We are but mere teenage boys, madam. We are doing our best,” Reggie retorts with an arrogant sniff and final bow. “Adu good sir and lady.” Then he shimmers away.

“He’s really going for his role there,” Luke says with a smirk.

Julie laughs, can still feel the last wisps of hysteria, and settles more into her pillows.

“How long have you been planning this?” she asks as she takes a sip from her cup. It’s apple juice.

Luke scratches at the side of his chin and shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “I mean, I’ve wanted to take you on a date for a while, but wasn’t sure how that would work. And when Alex said you were feeling down today, we pulled all of this together to make something happen.”

“Alex told you what we talked about?” Julie asks, feeling a little betrayed.

Luke’s eyes widen and he immediately jumps to Alex’s defense, “Not really. He just mentioned that you’d had a hard day and that maybe I should speed up my plans for figuring out how to make this...thing...between us feel a little more normal.”

Julie takes another sip of juice and considers what he’s said. “Well, I’m glad whatever he said led to this.”

Luke grins and his eyes shine in the candle light. 

“He told me something interesting about you, you know,” she teases.

“Oh yeah?”

“I didn’t know you two dated.”

“Oh, uh, yeah we did. Is that a problem?” Luke asks nervously.

“What, no, of course not!” Julie assures. “It was just something new to learn about you. I feel like we know a lot about each other now, but not about our pasts.”

“Well, I’m an only child, have been playing music since I can remember, was a terrible student who talked way too much in class and never got my work done, and wasn’t planning on college because we’d already had a few producers looking at our stuff when I graduated high school. The Orpheum was supposed to be our big break, so why would I need more school, right?”

“I’m sure it would have been.” Julie tilts her head as she looks at him. “I bet you really were insufferable at school.”

Luke laughs and asks, “Do you think you would have wanted to date me if I was in one of your classes and we met another way?”

“God, no.” Julie scrunches her nose and shakes her head at him, which makes him pout, but his eyes are laughing. “Maybe. I don’t know. I think I would have thought you were cute, and we may have connected over music. But i don’t think you would have paid me any attention. I’m sure you were such a ladies man with your guitar and whole rockstar vibe.”

Luke shakes his head and adamantly denies it before shrugging. “Ok, so maybe you’re right that I flirted with a lot of people. But I’d like to think that as soon as I heard you in any universe that I’d stop whatever I was doing and say ‘hey, I need to know this girl.’”

Julie feels her face heat up at the earnestness in his voice and she ducks her head. “Me too.”

“Food’s up!” Alex says as he and Reggie bring in plates of food and an extra cup of apple juice.

“Bon appetit,” Reggie says as the food is placed in front of Julie. 

“Enjoy, you crazy kids. Don’t get up to anything I wouldn’t do,” Alex jokes and heads back out the door.

“That doesn’t leave you with a lot,” Reggie says with a wink before he’s running out of the room too.

“Hopefully it’s good. Like Reggie said earlier, we don’t have a lot of experience with making food. And now we don’t really need to learn”

“It’s an interesting combination but I’m sure it’ll taste fine,” Julie says as she takes her first bite. It tastes good for what it is.

Luke stands up and grabs an acoustic guitar from the other side of the room.

“How about I play a bit while you eat?” he asks as he settles back down.

Julie nods and he begins to strum idle tunes, humming along every so often. It’s nice and mellow, the acoustic not something he plays often. Julie feels so warm and happy right now, she never wants it to stop. If she could take a snapshot and live in this moment forever she would.

When she finishes her meal, Luke leads her out to the backyard and they sit on the lawn chairs, mirroring their poses from the night of the concert.

“I’m glad we did this, Luke. To be honest, I was feeling a little overwhelmed today. After you left this morning, I don't know, I just started to spiral a little.” Luke frowns at her and she makes herself find the courage to continue. “I think this is going to be really hard, you and me. But also worth it. It’s just going to take some adjustments and us going in knowing we’ve got to figure things out and be patient.”

“I agree. It’s definitely not normal, no matter how much I wish it was. I’d give anything to reach out and hold your hand right now, Julie, but we both know that can’t happen. Right now, let’s just focus on the fact that we’re both here, in this moment, together, and take it day by day ok? If me dying and coming back has taught me anything it’s that we don’t know what tomorrow brings so let’s just enjoy it now.”

Julie nods and reaches out her hand. He places his right above hers, hovering just over her skin. His fingers stroke above her palm and down each individual finger to the tips. 

Out of the corner of her eye she sees a burst of light and sits up.

“Did you see that?”

“See what?” he asks, turning toward to look at the cluster of trees that caught her attention.

“Fireflies!” She jumps out of her seat and creeps over to the edge of the yard. 

A few moments later she sees two flashes of light before the darkness consumes them again. She looks up at Luke by her side, at the boyish wonder on his face as he searches for the next flash of light, and lets herself take a break from worrying.

“Julie, look, another one,” he says, pointing. She whips her head around to catch it right before it disappears again. A moment later one of the bugs lands on her arm and lights up. “Oh my god!”

Luke laughs and tries to shoo it away, and then doesn’t stop laughing when she crosses her arms and frowns at him.

“They can’t hurt you Julie,” he says in the most placating voice she’s ever heard.

“Whatever, Lucas.”

“Ugh, gross, no.” He says as he steps closer to the trees. “We’re not going there.”

Julie laughs and leans against the trunk of the tree closest to her. She rests her head back against the bark and looks at the sky through the leaves. “It’s a beautiful night.”

“It is,” Luke says, eyes up toward the sky as well.

They relax in easy silence for a while. Julie shuts her eyes, lets her weight surrender to the tree, and listens to the cicadas and crickets sing. When she opens her eyes, all she can see are blue eyes and a nervous smile, and all she can feel is her pulse in her fingertips.

“Hi,” Luke whispers. He’s moved while her eyes have been closed, and now he’s directly in front of her, arms propped up on either side of her head against the tree -- caging in her. Instead of feeling trapped, she feels simultaneously calm and like she’s just run a 20 mile race.

“Hi,” Julie whispers back. His eyes flick down to the way her lips curve into a bashful smile, and he licks his own.

“This is where I’d kiss you,” he says, voice still soft and carried by the slight breeze of the night air.

“This is where I’d like to be kissed.”

Luke takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes shut, an edge of frustration creeping into his face. When he exhales, he’s calm again and stares right back into her eyes.

“How would you like to be kissed Julie?”

Julie can barely breathe with the rush of that question. How indeed?

“Well it’d be our first kiss,” she says with a glance down at his lips - parted, a little damp. “So, probably soft, little slow.”

“Mmmm, I could do that,” Luke grins, something dangerous but still kind around the edges.

Julie lets out a quiet laugh. This whole thing is absurd! But god, does she ache for it. She shuts her eyes and imagines it, pressing softly against his lips, what he may taste like.

“Do something for me,” he says. Julie pulls herself from her daydream and glances back up at him. “Press two fingers against your lips, like this,” he taps his pointer and middle finger against his lips, “and that’ll be like our kiss. So you’ll know I want to kiss you and if you do it I’ll know too. It’s not the same, but it could be our thing.”

Julie gazes at him, at the earnestness in his face, the way he brings his fingers up to press once more against his own lips, and she copies his actions. If it was anyone else asking, she’d find it ridiculous, maybe she’d even laugh. But not now -- not when Luke’s the one with the idea and the mere act of fingers to skin sends a spark through her.

Luke pulls away and clears his throat. “It’s getting late, we should probably head back inside and see if the boys want to do anything else before you’re off to bed.”

Julie nods, mind racing over the past few minutes, few hours really, and follows him back into the studio.

* * *

“Guess what!” Flynn says in an octave higher than her normal voice as she skips into the studio a week later. “I’ve booked you a gig!”

“What, that’s awesome!” Reggie says, setting his bass down next to him.

“Wow, look at our manager go!” Julie cheers. “So what is it?”

“Well, I know this is kind of last minute, but the band for the school dance dropped out because the lead singer has strep throat, so me, being the amazing friend I am, went to the events committee and got Julie and her hologram band to be the new act!”

“Oh man, a school dance?” Luke groans from his spot next to Julie on the couch. His arm is tossed around her on the back of the couch, and it’s like this constant buzzing in her skin where she’d be able to feel him if she could. It’s so distracting, but she never wants him to move. He leans his head against his arm as he turns to her. “Dances are lame.”

“Hey, didn't you once tell me that you play whenever, whereve you can?” Julie reminds him as she turns her face his way.

Luke smiles at the reminder, and then it’s like the air gets sucked out of the room because his eyes drop to her mouth and he licks his own lips. This has been happening a lot since their date, and it sets Julie on fire every time.

“Focus!” Reggie calls from his spot on the other side of the room.

Julie pointedly turns away from Luke’s pretty face and tries not to blush. 

“So, what do you think?” Flynn asks, hands clasped in front of her like she’s about to beg.

“I say yes!” Julie says, “As long as the boys are good with it.”

“Yeah, I think it’ll be fun,” Reggie says.

“Me too,” Luke says. “And you’re right. Let’s rock those kids’ faces off and then play the clubs.”

“And then record a single that gets a billion streams.” Julie gets up from the couch as the excitement begins to set in.

“Awesome,” Flynn cheers. “Ok, I’m the opening act and will make sure the audience is pumped for you guys to go on after. This is going to be so much fun!”

“Oh it so is,” Julie says as she pulls Flynn into a hug. “Thank you best friend.”

“You’re welcome best friend.” Flynn pulls away and glances around the studio. “Are they all here?”

“Alex is out hanging with Willie I think,” Julie tells her. “But we were just writing a bit and hanging out. Want to chill while we wait for him?”

“Sure,” Flynn agrees as she walks over to the couch. Luke slips out of her way as she almost sits down on top of him. Julie hides a laugh behind her hand. “Ugh, I’ve had one of those old Trevor Wilson songs stuck in my head all day.”

“Oh, which one? You know I love that first album,” Julie says as she sits next to her. 

“I can never remember the name, but it’s the one with that sick guitar riff at the beginning.”

Julie pulls out her phone. “Let me see if I can find it on Spotify and we can listen to it. That always helps me get songs out of my head.”

“Hey guys,” Alex says as he appears through the studio door.

“Hey!” Reggie gets up and hugs him. “How was Willie?”

Alex blushes and scuffs the toe of his shoe into the floor. “He’s good, we went to the park for a bit.”

“Alex and Willie, sitting in a tree,” Luke sings as he pokes Alex in the side.

“Yeah, well the way I hear it you and Julie are kissing against trees,” Alex fires back.

“Hey now,” Julie warns, looking up from her phone.

“Sorry,” Alex says, hands up. He dodges Luke’s hands as they come up to try and ruffle his hair.

“Oh, it looks like someone’s in trouble.” Flynn laughs and looks around. “What’d they do.”

“Nothing,” Julie grumbles. 

It’s not like she’s keeping it from Flynn, it’s just that...well...she’s keeping it from Flynn. She’s not letting her burst the relationship bubble again. Not yet at least.

“Oh, Alex, we’re playing the school dance tomorrow so we’ll need to practice in a bit and make our set list,” Julie says to change the subject.

“Oh man, a school dance?”

“We’re dead, we should be happy to play anywhere,” Reggie reminds him.

“Plus this is how we get a following nowadays,” Luke says, voice confident as if he didn’t just gripe about the dance five minutes ago.

“Yeah, ok. Very true,” Alex aquinces.

“And you can bring Willie if you want. I still haven’t met him,” Julie says. “I wonder if I’ll even be able to see him. Oh, hey, was it Get Lost that’s in your head?” Julie asks Flynn as she turns back to her.

“No, it was the other one.”

Julie scrolls a bit more and then finds what she’s looking for. “Aha, found it.” She presses play and she and Flynn immediately start grooving to the opening riff.

“What the fuck,” Luke shouts, which makes Julie turns back to the guys. They all look like they’ve seen a ghost.

“Where did you get that?” Alex asks, walking toward them and reaching out for the phone.

“Hey what are you doing?” Julie asks as she yanks her phone back.

“No. Seriously Julie. Where did you get that?” Luke asks, and it’s the seriousness in his tone that halts Julie’s indignation in its tracks.

“What do you mean where did I get that? It’s a Trevor Wilson song.”

“Um, no. It’s a Sunset Curve song,” Reggie says. He has his arms pulled tight around himself, and Julie’s never seen him anything but happy. The change in demeanor is startling.

“Guys, I just told you this is a Trevor Wilson song. Look.” She shows them her phone. The cover has his face on it and then all gather around.

“That’s Bobby.” The anger radiating off of Luke is almost palpable. What is going on?

“No. That’s Trever Wilson.”

Alex throws out a hand to stop her from saying more. “Yeah. Ok. But that’s also our old bandmate Bobby. He must have changed his name or something.”

“What’s going on?” Flynn asks as she reaches out to grasp Julie’s arm. Julie glances at her and she looks nervous, as if she can sense the tension in the room.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Julie says. “So you’re saying Trevor Wilson was in Sunset Curve with you guys?”

“That’s exactly what we’re saying. Luke wrote that song,” Reggie says.

“Julie, what were his other hits?” Luke asks, and his voice is so close to breaking that it hurts a little. It’s like he’s fluctuating between this deep hurt and anger and Julie doesn’t know how to stop it. Her mind’s running a million miles a second. How can this make any sense?

“Get Lost?”

“Yeah, I wrote that.” Luke turns away, picks up a few darts, and starts letting his frustrations out on the dart board.

“Long Weekend?” she asks, hoping it’s not true.

“Yeah, Luke wrote that too.” Reggie runs a hand through his hair and curses under his breath.

“Wait, are all of these Sunset Curve songs?” Flynn asks, shocked. “What about Crooked Teeth?”

“Yeah, that too. Luke wrote it about Reggie,” Alex says, pointing at his offended bandmate. Julie nods at Flynn in confirmation.

“What? I thought it was about you? Because, let’s face it dude, before braces your teeth were so bad.”

Alex rolls his eyes and waves him away. “Either way, Trevor, Bobby, whatever the hell his name is, stole all of our songs. All of Luke’s songs. Did he even give us credit?”

“I’d never even heard of Sunset Curve before I heard your CD. Back when I was little my mom and I spent a lot of time with Trevor and his daughter. He never mentioned you guys.” Julie covers her face with her hands and tries to pull her thoughts together. “This is a big deal to me. Trevor’s music got me into rock, this is so crazy.”

“No. Luke got you into rock. Which is kind of some next-level soulmate shit.” Alex says as he paces around the room. “Unbelievable.”

“Not the time, Alex,” Luke grits out as she throws another dart. “Argh, I can’t believe he’d do this to us! He was like family!”

“So Carrie’s dad got mega rich off of stolen songs?” Flynn asks, hand against her forehead. “What an asshole. The whole family is terrible if you ask me.”

“Mega rich?” Reggie asks. “Like how rich?”

“Like owns a mansion, helicopter, and like 6 cars that he never drives rich.” Julie answers. “Wait, so after all of this time thinking you’re somehow connected to my mom, you’re actually connected through Carrie’s dad? Great, the one girl who had it out for me, and you have to be connected through her.”

And really, she can’t think about that too hard right now. If she does, she knows she’ll break down. Because all this time, every time she looked at her new friends -- her guardian angel idiots -- there had been a part of her that always said “she’s sent them to help me since she can’t be here.” What does it mean if they’re not sent here by her mom at all? No. Julie can’t have the last connection with her mom cut like this.

“This can’t be happening!” Luke shouts as he launches one last dart toward the board. “I can’t believe this. He stole our legacy!”

“Yeah, and let’s circle back to the money! My parents lost their home and they probably never saw a dime of Bobby’s earnings.”

“Our legacy!” Luke repeats again. “Our families will never know that what we were doing could have made us famous, could have been something big, because he never gave us credit and is using a different name!” After a beat he asks, voice low and dark, “Where does he live?”

And for some reason, Julie answers. Then they’re gone and she’s left reaching out into thin air. “Wait, don’t.”

“What’s going on now,” Flynn asks, exasperated. “I really wish I could see them too.”

“I think I just unleashed three angry ghosts on the world. But I know where they’re going.”

Julie runs inside and grabs her dad’s keys off the counter. “Hey dad, I need to go run some errands with Flynn. I’ll be back soon!”

“Ok, pick up some milk while you’re out ok?” he calls from the living room.

“This is so bad,” Julie says as she unlocks the car for them. “So, so bad.”

“It’s going to be ok,” Flynn tries to assure her, but Julie can tell she’s nervous too. “Off to Carrie’s house then?”

* * *

The guard at the front gate is named Alejandro, and he’s been a staple in the Wilson security crew since Julie was in diapers. He’s always got a friendly smile, but knows how to turn on business mode and become the perfect body guard when the need arises. The best part? He treats Julie like an extension to his family -- sends her Christmas cards every year and was one of the first people at her mother’s wake after she passed.

“Hey Alejandro,” Julie says with her most innocent smile. “How are you today?”

“Good, good. It’s nice to see you Julie. Haven’t seen you around in quite a while. How’s your family holding up?” He leans out of the guard room’s window to wave at Flynn as well. 

“We’re doing ok. I was just going to stop in and say hi to everyone,” Julie says with a nod toward the driveway. “Trying to patch things up with Carrie.”

“Ah, yes. I heard you two had a falling out. She took it hard too when your mother...well...we all did really.”

Julie nods and runs her fingers over the steering wheel to distract herself. “Yeah.”

“Go on up. Mr. Wilson just got in from his yoga class.” He waves them through with a smile and Julie throws the car in drive.

“Thanks Alejandro!”

Her heart starts to pound as they inch closer to the house. 

“So how are we going to convince Carrie to let us in?” Flynn asks as Julie comes to a stop.

“Um, wing it?” she answers. Julie hops out of the car and immediately starts scanning the windows for the boys.

Flynn rings the doorbell and Carrie answers a few seconds later with her hip cocked against the door frame and arms crossed. “Ugh, did Alejandro let you through? I’ll need to talk to him about that.” 

“Don’t get mad at him, I told him we were patching things up.”

“Yeah, sure.” Carrie rolls her eyes and stands more in the middle of the doorway, blocking their path. “What do you want?”

“We just wanted to, uh,” Flynn cuts in, “let you know that Julie’s band is performing tonight! We’re going old school and knocking on people’s doors.”

“Weird. And probably ineffective,” Carrie says.

“Yeah, but you know how we’re all too hooked into social media nowadays. Thought we’d try something different,” Julie tries as she plasters a fake smile on her face.

“Oh, hey Julie,” Nick says as he comes up behind Carrie. “Hey Flynn.”

“Nick! What are you doing here?” Julie asks. He opens the door a little wider so he can see past Carrie, and it gives Julie a better view of the house. On the staircase she can see three pairs of shoes heading to the second floor. 

“The project for English class that’s due next week,” Nick says. He flips his hair to the side so it stays out of his eyes. “Want to come in?”

“They were just leaving,” Carrie says with a hard edge to her tone. “Right girls?”

“Actually, I’d love a glass of water if I can have one,” Julie requests in a rush. She has to get inside, there’s not telling what the boys are up to.

“Me too!” Flynn chimes in, always the best wing woman.

Carrie sighs and opens the door up wider. “Fine, just don’t touch anything.”

“Well we’ll have to touch the cups to drink the water,” Flynn says under her breath. 

Carrie glares at her as they walk toward the kitchen.

Flynn and Julie help themselves to cups of water and both take a slow gulp as Nick and Carrie sit back down at the dining room table that’s laden with art supplies.

“What now?” Flynn hisses under her breath.

“They’re upstairs, I saw them through the door. We have to distract Carrie and Nick.”

Flynn lets her cup drop to the floor, almost a full serving of water spilling out onto the tiles below. “Oh shit, I’m such a klutz.”

Julie gasps and lets her own cup fall. “Crap. I’ll go get a bath towel. Or maybe a few. So sorry about the mess!” Julie calls as she darts toward the stairs. “Don’t worry I remember where they are!”

She can hear Carrie yelling after her as she takes the stairs to the second floor landing and glances around. “Guys!” she whisper-yells as she tries to figure out where they’re hiding.

She decides to go left toward the family’s entertainment room. It’s where Trevor keeps a lot of his instruments and it’s as good a guess as any. She creeps along the hallway and listens out for voices, hoping that Trevor doesn’t walk out of a room and catch her snooping.

“Hello,” Julie calls as she opens the door to the entertainment room. 

It’s dark and after a quick flip of the light switch it’s empty. She checks the two guest bathrooms and bedrooms on her side of the hall and grabs a few towels while she’s at it. Just as she’s turning the corner back toward the staircase and other side of the house, she hears Trevor’s frantic voice and laughter. Julie peaks around the corner to see the boys low-fiving as Trevor retreats down the stairs.

“Guys, what are you doing?” she asks, frustrated.

All three boys whip their heads around to stare at her, but then immediately shimmer away.

“Ugh, I hate all of you,” she grumbles as she makes her way back downstairs.

She catches them reappearing outside on the patio with Trevor’s jet about to take off. They must have really done a number on him. Julie checks in on Flynn, who is animatedly talking about something with Nick and Carrie. Carrie looks annoyed, but Nick is laughing along with her. She catches Flynn’s eye and points outside. Flynn immediately turns back to Nick and launches into another topic.

“So, did you guys have fun in there?” Julie asks as she walks up to the guys. They’re pulling up their pants after mooning the helicopter. Real mature.

“Oh, you’d do the exact same if he stole all of your songs,” Luke defends.

“But you have new songs with me,” she says, stepping closer to them. “The best way to get back at Trevor is for this band to do great. And we start doing that by focusing on our music and preparing for tomorrow’s dance.”

“And then move to clubs and get a million streams, I know.” Luke says, taking a step forward so he’s directly in front of her.

“Please just let this go,” she urges, looking into his eyes and then turning toward the guys. “Let’s just focus on what we can do moving forward.”

“I’m not sorry about what we did. He deserved it,” Reggie says.

“Maybe he did, but we need to focus on our own stuff now,” Julie says. “There’s going to be a lot of people at the dance tomorrow, and we need to be prepared.”

“We got it, don’t worry,” Alex assures and looks to the rest of the boys. “We’ll meet you back at the studio in a little bit.”

Julie nods, looks at each of them individually again, and then turns around and walks back through the house.

“Here’s the towels. We’ll get the water cleaned up and be out of here soon,” Julie says as she heads to the kitchen. She scrubs the water away with more force than necessary, trying to get some of the frustrated energy out.

“That took you long enough,” Carrie says. “Throw the towels in the laundry room your way out.”

Flynn rolls her eyes and grabs the towels from Julie. “You good?” she asks.

Julie nods and they head toward the door. “Bye Nick. Bye Carrie.”

Nick calls out his goodbyes and they head out the house and back to the car.

“Boys are stupid,” Julie grumbles as they buckle in. She takes a deep breath and turns back to Flynn. “But you are amazing for keeping them distracted in there.”

“I am amazing. I deserve a free milkshake.” Flynn crosses her arms and lifts her chin in cute superiority.

“You so do,” Julie agrees and turns the car around. “One super chocolaty milkshake with brownie bits coming right up.”

* * *

The guys are already back in the studio when Julie and Flynn arrive. They’re huddled together, Reggie and Alex on the couch with Luke sitting on the coffee table in front of them, talking in low voices. The way they’re holding their bodies shows that the anger hasn’t really dissipated from earlier.

“Hey, you guys ready to figure out that set list for tomorrow?” Julie asks as she sets down her milkshake. “Flynn, they’re on the couch but the chairs over there are open.”

Flynn plops down in a chair by the piano and takes a sip of her milkshake. “Yes, let’s get to practicing. Mama needs some eye candy.”

Reggie smirks and stands up to grab his bass. “Eye candy huh?”

“Don’t make their heads even bigger than they already are,” Julie groans as she grabs her notebook.

They all pick up their instruments and check to make sure everything’s working right before they start practicing. It goes well, and there’s only mild back and forth on the song order for the night. All and all, it’s a good practice and Flynn sings and cheers along like the beautiful groupie she is.

And while they sound great and they’re communicating pretty normally, there’s just something off. The vibe isn’t the same and there’s this lingering tension left from earlier that’s still keeping all of the boys a little too tense.

“This sounds great guys,” Flynn says as they go through their set for the last time. “You’ll wow everyone tomorrow for sure.”

Luke grins and nods as he sets his guitar down. “That’s what I like to hear.”

“I’ve got to get going. We’ve got that math test tomorrow and I need to study.” Flynn says as she stands up. “Thanks for a fun day!”  
  


“Oh man, I forgot about that. I guess I need to go study too. I’ll walk you out.” She turns toward the guys who are putting their instruments back up. “I’ll just see you all in the morning ok? I’ve really got to study tonight.”

“Sure, night Julie!” Reggie says.

“Night!” Alex calls with a twirls of his drumstick.

“Goodnight,” Luke says and gives her a soft smile. “Sweet dreams.”

Julie exits to a chorus of awwww’s from Alex and Reggie, and shuts the door firmly behind her.

* * *

The next morning Julie comes down to the kitchen for breakfast to find Reggie and Luke sitting around the kitchen table while her unsuspecting father reads the newspaper.

“Morning dad,” she says and kisses him on the top of his head. “I just want to remind you I’m going to the dance tonight so I’ll be leaving to head back over there before dinner.”

“Sure thing,” he says and gives her a tight hug.

“Good luck on your test today!” Reggie says from his seat at the table next to Ray.

Julie nods his way and smiles in thanks. “Is Carlos up and getting ready?” she asks her dad.

“Yeah, I heard him moving around in his room earlier. We’ll leave in five ok?”

“Sounds good,” Julie says as she heads back upstairs to grab her backpack. “Carlos, five minutes!”

Carlos opens his door as she passes back by his room with her bag and they head down the stairs together. Luke’s standing by the door and watches as her brother and father file outside.

“Good luck on your test, you’ll do great,” Luke says with a nod. The way he says it makes her feel 100% more confident than she feels about it.

“Thanks.” She can tell her face turns into something fond and embarrassing. “Morning by the way.”

“Morning.” He bites his lip and grins. Then presses his fingers to his lips. 

She does the same and his face lights up even more in response. “I’ll see you guys at the dance tonight. Remember, we go on at nine but I’d like it if you’d be there by eight so we can all get ready, ok?”

Luke nods and ushers her out the door.

* * *

Julie walks through the school hallways and toward the gym, embracing the last few moments of quiet before she enters the chaos of the dance. She smooths down the fabric of her mother’s old shirt and reminds herself to be brave as she walks through the doors.

Flynn is already up on stage doing her thing as Julie walks up to her and waves. “Hey girl.”

“Hey!” Flynn says, the excitement of the night bleeding into her voice. “There you are! Come on up and put your stuff behind the curtains.”

Julie hops up on stage and glances back at the audience. Everyone seems to be enjoying the music Flynn is playing and the party is already in full swing.

“You guys ready for Julie and the Phantoms tonight?” Flynn says into her microphone. The crowd erupts in a cheer. “Me too! That’s later, so right now enjoy some more of my mind numbing beats!” She then steps away from her table to follow Julie backstage.

“Julie and the Phantoms?” Julie asks as she places her fake projector on the ground.

“I had some extra time to kill in French class. And inspiration just kind of struck me. You better like it because I’ve already registered it on all of the major platforms.”

“I do, and I’m sure the guys will too,” Julie says. She gives Flynn a hug in greeting and turns back toward the stage. “That’s a lot of people.”

“You’ll do great, promise,” Flynn says with an extra squeeze to her arm. “Are the boys here yet?”

“Not yet, but they should be here soon. It’s only a little after eight.”

“Of course they will. And oh, hey, it’s Nick!” Flynn turns Julie around to face the doors to the backstage area.

“Hey ladies,” Nick greets.

“Nick, hi!” Julie says, flailing around a little. She immediately pulls her hands back to her sides. “You made it.”

“I’ve got to go back to my set, excuse me,” Flynn says, voice a little too chipper to be believable. Always playing matchmaker, that girl.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Nick says as he ducks his head. “It was good seeing you and Flynn today at Carrie’s house.”

“Um, yeah. Sorry if that was weird or if we were interrupting anything.”

“Nah, it was strictly school work. I told you we broke up.” Nick stakes a step closer and smiles. “So there’s nothing going on with Carrie.”

“Yeah, ok, great!” Julie sputters and takes a small step back.

“The truth is, I can’t wait to hear you play again. Your song has been stuck in my head for weeks.”

“I’m glad you liked it! It seems a lot of people like it, which is kind of unreal.” Julie scratches behind her ear and feels a little flustered by the praise. “I hope we can show you something amazing tonight as well.”

“I have no doubt,” Nick says. He reaches out and squeezes her arm. “Hey I’ve got to go meet some of my friends out there but I can’t wait to see you perform.”

“Thanks.” Julie waves as he walks away and Flynn comes running back toward her.

“Oh he’s got it bad for you!” she squeals.

“Nah, we’re just friends,” Julie says and Flynn gives her a look. “Look, I’ve been meaning to tell you but I just wasn’t sure how. Luke and I are kind of a thing now.”

Flynn nods and lets that sit for a second. “Ok, but how does that even work?”

“It just does. And it’s working really well, actually.” Julie fiddles with her bracelets and looks at her shoes. “And please don’t burst my shiny, new, kind of relationship bubble with all your reality talk.”

Flynn reaches out and stills her hands. “I just want what’s best for you. And if Luke’s making you happy then I’ll support it.”

Julie looks back up at her best friend and nods. “Thanks.”

“Of course. Now, it’s getting closer to nine, where are they?”

Julie looks around, hoping to spot them out in the audience or see that they’ve poofed in backstage somewhere. “I’m not sure. But they’ll be here. They know how important this is to me.”

Flynn nods and motions back toward the stage. “Gotta do the next song.”  
  


* * *

8:55, a pit starts to form in Julie’s stomach.

By 9:00, her chest starts to feel too tight.

By 9:05, she starts to pace back and forth and barely hears Flynn saying that they’re having some technical difficulties over the roaring in her ears.

Where are they? They wouldn't just abandon her like this, would they? They care about this as much as she does. 

By 9:15, she’s in pull panic mode and Flynn keeps glancing back over at her from her spot on stage as if she’s a caged animal. She sits down on the ground and puts her face in her hands.

Flynn runs off stage and sits down next to her. “I think you should just play by yourself. You know all of the lyrics and you’ll do amazing on your own.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Julie nearly shouts. She throws her hands up in the air. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know, but, Julie, you can do this. Just take a few deep breaths and focus on your mom like you did when you performed at the pep rally.”

“Don’t you get it? It hurts too much to do this on my own. I need someone there to sing with me and be there for me. And I know you’re my best friend but it’s not the same. When I’m with the guys, I just know they’ll have my back and, until yesterday, I’d convinced myself that my mom was the reason they were here, like they were an extension of her. Even if they’re not, we’re a band and that’s the only way I’d feel prepared enough to perform tonight.”

Flynn pulls her into a hug and runs a comforting hand through her hair. “They’ll show. You know boys, they can’t be on time for anything.”

“Hey, everything ok?” 

Julie spins around, hopes beyond hope that it’s a ghost, but it’s only Nick.

“Just some technical difficulties,” Flynn says. “Her projector won’t work,so her band can’t be here right now.”

Nick sits down next to her and reaches for the cord. “This may be your problem, it’s not plugged in.” He pauses and takes in Julie’s distress. “Unless that’s not the real reason you can’t perform tonight.”

Julie shrugs and fiddles with her shoelaces.

“Hey don’t let this crowd freak you out. What I saw last time you played was insane. You got this.”

There’s an echo in Julie’s mind of Luke, suddenly, saying the same thing before her performance at the pep rally. _You got this_.

_But I don’t_ , she thinks.

Suddenly Nick’s running out on stage and speaking directly into the mic. “Who’s ready for Julie and the Phantoms.”

“Shit,” Flynn says beside her.

Shit indeed.

“He means well. And this is just what you need to get your ass on stage and be the star I know you are!” Flynn says, pulling Julie up from the ground. She’s trying so hard to turn this into a positive, but Julie’s frozen.

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can!” Flynn encourages and leads her to the stage.

_They’re not here. They’re not coming_ . It’s stuck in a repeat in Julie’s head. Over and over. _They left you just like she did. You’re alone._

Julie feels like she’s going to puke. She grabs the mic when Nick hands it to her and stutters out some excuse. Something about wifi, she can’t really tell, but her mouth is moving and she thinks she’s making some kind of sense. Carrie comes up on stage and says something that pisses Flynn off based on her body language, but Julie can’t hear any of it over the pounding in her ears and the constant stream of _Alone. Alone. Alone._ in her head.

“Sorry,” Nick apologizes as Julie walks backstage again, and she tries to give him her best _it’s ok_ smile. By the way he nods and heads back into the crowd she thinks he may have believed her.

“Jules, I’m going to play a few more songs, ok, finish out the dance so people aren’t without music. Just chill here, ok, and then you can come over to my house and hang out.” Fynn smooths down her hair and goes back on stage to wrap up the night.

Julie scoots back so her back is against the cool cement wall of the theater and tries to enjoy the rest of Flynn’s set. It’s all she can do right now. She’s so angry and disappointed at both herself and her band for making this night a disaster.

When most everyone has gone home and she’s helped Flynn move all of the tech equipment back to storage, they still have to wait a few minutes for Flynn’s mom to come pick them up. That leaves them sitting under the balloon arch, popping whatever they can reach, and staying mostly silent as they process the night.

“That’s what we get for depending on boys,” Flynn finally huffs out.

Julie presses a hand to her forehead and sighs. “I don't know if I should be mad or worried. They're ghosts, I don't know what kind of trouble they could get into. And before tonight I’d never thought they’d just...not show up, you know? They care about music too much, and me. I didn’t think they’d do this to me.”

“I know Jules. And, hey, maybe they’ll have a good explanation. Or maybe not. Either way, let’s watch some rom coms, gorge on some cookies, and not think about stupid boys again tonight. If they’ve gotten themselves into trouble there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

“I can’t believe they’d do this,” Julie whispers to herself. “I can’t believe Luke would do this.”

Flynn reaches over and pulls her into a one-armed hug.

“Julie we are ready to rock this dance!” comes Reggie’s voice out of nowhere. “Which is clearly over.”

Julie turns to see all three boys run through the doors and stop in the center of the room, taking in the empty space. Alex spots her first and he reaches out to Luke to point him in her direction.

Julie stands up and crosses her arms. The looks on all of their faces show that they know they’ve fucked up -- the regret plainas day. It’s not good enough.

“Flynn, if you don’t want to hear me yelling you should go stand outside the door.”

“What? Are they here? Seriously?” Flynn asks, voice getting higher and angrier at each question.

Luke stretches out his hands in front of him in a placating manner. “We are so, so sorry that we bailed on you.”

“Flynn,” Julie warns again.

“Um, no I’m staying right here, thanks.”

“I mean the night really got away from us,” Alex says.

“The night got away from you? That’s your excuse? How can a night, where you’re supposed to be on stage performing, something you all claim is super important to you, get away from you?” Julie can feel her blood boiling. Her eyes scan each of them and they don’t look disheveled or injured so they clearly weren’t in danger earlier.

“Well, there were these twins that Luke and I--” Reggie starts, but when Luke turns to him with an icy stare and a slap to his arm he immediately cuts himself off.

“Twins? You were out with twins?” Julie can’t even make that compute.

“You ditched Julie for girls?” Flynn cuts in as she throws her hands out. “What the hell?”

Julie tries to take a deep, calming breath so she can talk about this instead of yelling. “Just please tell me this had nothing to do with getting back at Carrie’s dad.”

The chorus of “no, of course not’s” is the most unconvincing thing Julie thinks she’s ever seen. And just like that, all of the hope she didn’t know she’d been holding onto for the night disappears. They really did choose revenge over her.

“Seriously?” she asks them. Then she looks straight at Luke and it hurts. “You’re lying to me?”

The answering silence is all the answer she needs.

“Look,” Alex says after a moment, “it was something we needed to do.”

Luke steps towards her, reaches out, and she steps away from him. “We’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. We’ll play the next school--”

“What, so you can bail on me and make me look like a fool again? No thanks.” Julie shakes her head and wipes away a few tears. When did she start crying? She meets Luke’s eyes, and what comes out is a broken, “I trusted you! And you weren’t there.” A look to the other boys, cowering behind him. “None of you were.”

“Julie,” Flynn whispers, resting a hand on her arm. Julie immediately shrugs her away.

“You know what really sucks? Our songs were good. And all three of you know what I’ve been through and how tough it’s been for me to play. And then you do this?” There’s more tears running down her face, but she can’t find the energy to wipe them away this time. Suddenly, she’s just exhausted, like the stress of the night has caught up to her and zapped all of her energy. “Bands don’t do that to each other. Friends don’t do that to each other.”

“Julie, we’re so sorry,” Reggie says, tears in his own eyes.

“What can we do?” Alex asks.

Julie looks at each of them in turn, ends with Luke, and says “this was a mistake.” Her whole body hurts as the words leave her lips.

“You mean the school dance, right?” Luke asks, desperate. “No-not the band. Not us. Right?”

“No. I mean all of it. I can’t trust you, any of you, and that’s the only way this works.” She turns to Flynn and motions toward the door. “Your mom should be here by now. Let’s go.”

Flynn runs out after her, and Julie can hear Luke calling for her as she heads out the door. “Julie! Please!” His voice cracks and she forces herself to keep moving.

* * *

Julie trudges into her room the next day, groggy from a rough night of sleep and staying up too late eating too many chocolate chip cookies and crying over movies with Flynn. She throws her bags down and falls face first into her mattress.

“You’re home.”

She turns over onto her back and looks to her window where Luke’s standing, gazing out into the backyard.

“What are you doing in here?” She sits up and pulls her legs to her chest. “Get out.”

Luke turns to her, eyes imploring and face twisted into something so sad and crushed she immediately wants to wipe it away. But she can’t. He’s hurt her and he doesn’t get to just be let off the hook for this.

“Please, Julie. I’m so sorry about last night. We got stuck in this like time warp thing-”

“Save it, I don’t want to hear your excuses. All I know is that when I needed you, when we were supposed to start our band and play our first real gig, I was left standing alone while everyone stared at me.” Luke makes a move toward her and she holds up a hand. “Luke, I can’t.”

“I want you to know there wasn’t another girl, not really.”

Julie snorts and shakes her head. “Not really? That’s convincing.”

“We were at this ghost club thing, and we all got pulled up on the dance floor. It wasn’t a big deal.” Luke chews on his lip and rubs behind your neck. “I’d never do that to you.”

“Just like you’d never leave me to face a crowd alone? I bet.”

Luke sighs and scrubs his hands over his face in frustration. “I know, this is really bad, and I will apologize for as long as you want me to, but I want you to know that there wasn’t more to the story with what Reggie said.”

Julie gazes at him and has to swallow past a lump on her throat. “Ok.”

He nods and tries to come closer again, but she shakes her head. “What can I do, what can we do?”

“You can’t do anything,” she says, frustrated. “You’ve all hurt me, I can’t trust you, and I don’t know how to get past that right now. So just leave me alone!”

It’s silent after her outburst as they look at each other. Luke looks as devastated as she feels.

“Where does this leave us?” he asks, voice quiet.

“I don’t know Luke. Trust is a big part of relationships and I just said I can’t trust you, so.” She looks down at her comforter and runs her fingers over the pattern. If she looks at him she won’t be able to say it. “I don’t think I can do this right now.”

She hears his sharp intake of breath and glances up. While he doesn’t say anything, she can feel the space between them fill with everything they wish they could say aloud. Slowly, he lifts his fingers to his lips and a tear rolls down his cheek. It breaks her heart even more, and she shuts her eyes.

“Please go.”

When she opens them he’s gone. She climbs under the covers, buries her face in her pillows, and cries.


End file.
